Title; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; 1. Why intellectual property? Why now?; 2. Running through the jungle; Section One: Historical context and conceptual frameworks; 3. Intellectual property rights and their diffusion around the world; 4. The political economy of intellectual property; 5. I am because I own vs. I am because we are; Section Two: Terrains of conflict and terms of engagement; 6. Owning up to owning traditional knowledge of medicinal plants; 7. Using human rights to move beyond reformism to radicalism; 8. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. 9. Free software and open source movements from digital rebellion to Aaron SwartzCoda: What's radical about free/open source software?; Section Three: Law, policy and jurisdiction; 10. Rethinking the World Intellectual Property Organization; 11. What is intellectual property?; 12. Piracy, states and the legitimation of authority; 13. Summary and concluding remarks; About the editors and contributors; Index.

Up-to-date and comprehensive, this book examines the wider implications of the concept of IP and questions how IP law has been used to safeguard and assert the ownership of ideas and creativity. Today, with mounting challenges from the growth of free software and open source movements, this collection provides an accessible and alternative guide to IP, exploring its significance within the wider struggle between capital and the commons.