The New Cognitive Property: Human Capital Law and the Reach of Intellectual Property

Contemporary law has become grounded in the conviction that not only the outputs of innovation -- artistic expressions, scientific methods, and technological advances -- but also the inputs of innovation -- skills, experience, know-how, professional relationships, creativity, and entrepreneurial ene...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTexas law review Vol. 93; no. 4; p. 789
Main Author Lobel, Orly
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Austin University of Texas, Austin, School of Law Publications, Inc 01.03.2015
Subjects
Agreements
Antitrust
Antitrust laws
Bargaining
Competitive advantage
Contract negotiations
Criminalization
Economic growth
Employees
Entrepreneurs
Human capital
Intellectual property
Knowledge
Labor law
Law
Noncompetition agreements
Professional relationships
Public domain
Spinoffs
Startups
Studies
United States > US
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Summary:Contemporary law has become grounded in the conviction that not only the outputs of innovation -- artistic expressions, scientific methods, and technological advances -- but also the inputs of innovation -- skills, experience, know-how, professional relationships, creativity, and entrepreneurial energies -- are subject to control and propertization. In other words, we now face a reality of not only the expansion of intellectual property (IP) but also "cognitive property". The new cognitive property has emerged under the radar, commodifying intellectual intangibles that have traditionally been kept outside of the scope of intellectual property. This Article introduces the growing field of human capital law at the intersections of IP law, contract and employment law, and antitrust law and cautions against the devastating effects of the growing enclosure of cognitive capacities in contemporary markets. The Article concludes with a call to reform human capital law from a nebulous set of harmful doctrines to a body of law committed to the promotion of innovation, knowledge flow, and economic growth.
ISSN:0040-4411
1942-857X