The Big Steal: Ideology, Interest, and the Undoing of Intellectual Property

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Jonathan M. Barnett (Torrey H. Webb Professor of Law, Torrey H. Webb Professor of Law, University of Southern California, Gould School of Law)

The Big Steal

Ideology, Interest, and the Undoing of Intellectual Property

Jonathan M. Barnett (Torrey H. Webb Professor of Law, Torrey H. Webb Professor of Law, University of Southern California, Gould School of Law)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
21 May 2025

Comparative politics; Political economy; Business & management; Information technology industries; Intellectual property law

In The Big Steal, Jonathan Barnett documents the unusual confluence of ideological commitments and business interests behind the across-the-board dilution of legal protections for inventors and artists under U.S. patent and copyright law.

Concurrently with the rise of the digital economy and platform-based markets, the Supreme Court, Congress, and antitrust regulators significantly weakened legal protections against the unauthorized use of technological inventions and creative works. Under the popular slogan that ""information wants to be free,"" significant portions of the scholarly and tech communities advocated and welcomed the erosion of property rights in knowledge markets.

This policy shift often relied on incomplete or premature findings that concerning the impact of robust intellectual property rights on innovation markets.

Through a rich analysis that draws on law, economics, and political science, and using evidence from a wide range of technology and creative markets, Barnett shows that the depropertization of intellectual assets poses a risk to the U.S. and global innovation ecosystem by shifting economic value toward digital intermediaries and vertically integrated entities and away from the technology and content originators that drive the most robust knowledge economies.

By: Jonathan M. Barnett (Torrey H. Webb Professor of Law Torrey H. Webb Professor of Law University of Southern California Gould School of Law)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 169mm, Spine: 32mm
Weight: 771g
ISBN: 9780197629529
ISBN 10: 0197629520
Pages: 424
Publication Date: 21 May 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction Part One. Concepts and Background 1. Making and Unmaking IP Rights 2. The Accidental Alliance Part Two. Unmaking Copyright Law Introduction to Part Two 3. The Political Economy of Copyright Law 4. The Rise of Unfair Use 5. How Courts Rewrote the DMCA 6. The Hesitant Return of Reason Part Three. Unmaking Patent Law Introduction to Part Three 7. The Political Economy of Patent Law 8. The Patent Litigation Explosion and Other Patent Horribles 9. Patent Trolls and the Demise of the Injunction 10. The Patent Holdup Conjecture 11. China and the Accidental Alliance Part Four. The Hidden Costs of Free Stuff 12. How Free Stuff Distorts Innovation and Competition 13. How Weak IP Rights Shield Incumbents and Impede Entry 14. Free Stuff Gets Dangerous 15. Free Stuff and the Decline of the Free Press Part Five. Remaking IP Rights 16. The Inevitability of Property Rights 17. Reinvigorating IP Rights and the Innovation Ecosystem Conclusion

Jonathan M. Barnett is the Torrey H. Webb Professor of Law at the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, and director of the law school's Media, Entertainment and Technology Law Program. He specializes in antitrust, competition, and intellectual property law and policy, with a focus on monetization strategies and organizational structures in content and technology markets. He has published widely in scholarly and policy publications and comments regularly on innovation policy matters in the press and at professional conferences. Prior to academia, he practiced corporate law at a leading international law firm, specializing in mergers and acquisitions.

Reviews for The Big Steal: Ideology, Interest, and the Undoing of Intellectual Property

The book is conveniently organized into discrete sections on patent and copyright law, each being further subdivided into highly readable subsections providing deep dives into relevant cases, legislation, and key concepts. It concludes with a short chapter setting out simple reforms to restore IP rights and confidence in IP protections. Extensive footnotes and citations are provided. The book is highly accessible and a must read for anyone interested in the state of current IP law in the United States. * J. D. Graveline, Choice *