Kinsella On Liberty

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 253. I spoke today on “A Libertarian’s Case Against Intellectual Property,” at the Federalist Society, University of Berkeley-California. It was well-organized and there was a perceptive and interesting critical commentary by Professor Talha Syed. This is the audio I recorded on my iPhone; video below; line-mic'd audio here. The youtube version (audio here) and the line-mic'd version both truncate about 30 seconds too early. My own iphone version (which is used for this podcast) includes those extra comments, and this is included in the transcript as well, below. Transcript below. My speaking notes pasted below. Youtube: https://youtu.be/EWM39RyMNaM   SPEAKING NOTES A Libertarian’s Case Against Intellectual Property Stephan Kinsella Kinsella Law Practice, Libertarian Papers, C4SIF.org with critical commentary by Professor Talha Syed UC-Berkeley Law School Federalist Society Oct. 11, 2018 General background: A Selection of my Best Articles and Speeches on IP Int

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 252. This is my appearance on the Death to Tyrants Podcast, Episode 33: Human Rights, Property Rights and Copyrights with Stephan Kinsella (Facebook post), released Oct. 1, 2018, with host Buck Johnson. From the Shownotes: One of my favorite interviews to date. We get into rights, property, self ownership and the philosophy behind these things. We then move into "intellectual property" and the case against copyright and patents. *** This week I feature my interview with the brilliant Stephan Kinsella. We discuss the nature of rights as libertarians view them. We get into property rights, human rights, self  ownership and why there is really no such thing as intellectual property. Stephan makes a strong case against copyrights and patents. Stephan's body of work can be found here: https://stephankinsella.com and here: http://c4sif.org Find us online at www.facebook.com/deathtotyrantspodcast  Follow me on Twitter @buckrebel

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 251. This is my appearance on Creative Juice, by Indepreneur, Episode66: EP66: The Shocking Case For Abolishing Copyright Laws w/ Patent Attorney Stephan Kinsella, Sep 28, 2018, with host Kyle Lemaire. We talked about a variety of matters, from the nature of property rights, Rothbard's view that all human rights are property rights, Locke's labor theory of property and the Marxian labor theory of value, the history and general nature of IP rights and why IP rights are incompatible with other property rights. This was a very fast-talking, dense episode with a lot of lecturing and talking from my end, but I think we covered a lot of ground, from the foundations of law and property rights to IP law. Their shownotes: Since its beginning, the music industry has been under heavy government regulation: copyright laws control much of the economy of the music business. Today, there are many voices on the frontline arguing for the abolishment of all intellectual property, includin

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 250. This is the audio of my presentation to the 2018 PFS meeting on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018. Powerpoint slides embedded below. Youtube embedded below. Also podcast at PFP195. Related material: see material linked in the above slides, including: Kinsella, On the UN, the Birchers, and International Law International Law, Libertarian Principles, and the Russia-Ukraine War Rubins, Papanastasiou & Kinsella’s International Investment, Political Risk, and Dispute Resolution: A Practitioner’s Guide, Second Edition (Oxford, 2020) KOL001 | “The (State’s) Corruption of (Private) Law” (PFS 2012) International Law MOOC (Youtube) Sovereignty, International Law, and the Triumph of Anglo-American Cunning | Joseph R. Stromberg Rosalyn Higgins, Problems and Process: International Law and How We Use It (Clarendon, 1994) Mark Janis, International Law (7th Ed. 2018) Restatement (Third) of the Law, The Foreign Relations Law of the United States (1987), HeinOnline, We

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 249. My appearance on Max Hillebrand's World Crypto Network show yesterday. Other notes: See other links at KOL191 | The Economy with Albert Lu: Can You Own Bitcoin? (1/3) My facebook post discussing ownership of Bitcoin Tom Bell: Copyright Erodes Property? Bitcoin Is Officially a Commodity, According to U.S. Regulator sd

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 248. TEMP: http://traffic.libsyn.com/livera/SLP15_-_Stephan_Kinsella.mp3 From my recent appearance on Stephan Livera's bitcoin-focused podcast. SLP15 – Intellectual Property, Bitcoin, and Internet Censorship, with Stephan Kinsella Stephan Kinsella, Intellectual Property lawyer, and libertarian advocate joins me in this episode to discuss: His story with bitcoin Money as Sui Generis Good The imprecise application of Lockean property theory Why you can’t own bitcoin, but it probably doesn’t make a big difference anyway The harmful effects of patents and copyright ‘Internet Censorship’ as it relates to property rights and ownership of private social media platforms Stephan Kinsella links: Twitter: @nskinsella Stephan’s website: StephanKinsella.com Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom Stephan Kinsella’s podcast, Kinsella on Liberty Podcast links: Libsyn SLP15 Apple Stitcher Spotify I really enjoyed this conversation with Stepha

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 247. On a recent episode [July 29, 2018] of Free Talk Live, Ian and Mark discuss their disagreement over Mark's filing a DMCA (copyright) takedown of a critical YouTube video. I called in to discuss this issue and intellectual property with Mark for the July 31 episode. For the full episode, go here. The excerpt with my portion is included here. I've discussed IP and other libertarian issues on FTL before: KOL141 | FreeTalkLive: IP and SOPA (2012) KOL082 | FreeTalkLive Guest Appearance: IP (2011) FreeTalkLive/XM Extreme Talk Appearance re Intellectual Property KOL 033 | Free Talk Live Interview on Reducing IP Costs (2010)

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 246. This is my appearance on the CryptoVoices podcast, Episode 43, interviewed by host Matthew Mežinskis. As indicated in the show notes (below), we discussed a variety of issues related to bitcoin, property rights, and related matters. The hosts also informed me of a recent article they had written regarding the economic classification of crypto tokens: An Economic Definition of Cryptotokens. Shownotes: Show support appreciated: 35iDYDYqRdN2x6KGcpdV2W1Hy3AjGje9oL Matthew interviews Stephan Kinsella, longtime advocate of private property and personal liberty, and expert on intellectual property law. We discuss broad-ranging issues on Bitcoin and private property. Is Bitcoin really property per se, and does anyone truly own bitcoin(s)? Also, how does the nature of intellectual property (or lack thereof) play into the open-source aspects of Bitcoin? What is Bitcoin? Is Bitcoin a digital good? Stephan shares his knowledge on the history of intellectual thought, personal

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 245 From my appearance on the Nothing Exempt podcast, Ep. 53, discussing IP with a couple of libertarian hosts. Well, co-host Nick said he was 80% libertarian and disagreed with me on IP ... but for somewhat inscrutable reasons, as I started asking him about, about 4 minutes in. Recorded June 6, 2018. Youtube: https://youtu.be/7FBu0EXyukU

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 244. From my recent appearance on the first episode of rising libertarian and media star Michael Malice's "Your Welcome" show on his new network, GaS Digital (consider subscribing--libertarian Dave Smith also has a great show on the network--I just did). I was in New York for the weekend, he was rebooting his show on a new network, so it was kismet. We discussed the basic case against intellectual property (I had to persuade Malice, an anarcho-capitalist who came into this without a lot of settled views on it), the Hoppe "toy helicopter" incident [e.g., 1, 2, 3], the infamous Robert Wenzel "debate," and a few other issues, like my recent bout with prostate cancer (yeah, he got me to go there). (Recorded May 26, 2018) Youtube: https://youtu.be/i0rvfJpPJ-4 From the YouTube episode description: It's the first episode of "YOUR WELCOME"! Join Michael Malice as he speaks with American Intellectual Property Lawyer Stephan Kinsella on the current system of IP and how the imp

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 243. From my recent appearance on the Libertarian Christians podcast, discussing (what else) IP, with host Norman Horn from May 22, 2018. See also KOL388 | Cantus Firmus with Cody Cook: Against Intellectual Property, and “Libertarians and the Catholic Church on Intellectual Property Laws” (2012) and links therein. Youtube: https://youtu.be/mrcZJsnSMUw  

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 242. I was a guest last night on Punching Left, with hosts Clifton Knox and David German, discussing argumentation ethics, estoppel, covenant communities, the non-aggression principle, physical removal, Hoppe, Propertarianism, Curt Doolittle, Austin Peterson, and so on. Youtube: https://youtu.be/bRsaVKXzYKk Related material: Kinsella, Defending Argumentation Ethics The Genesis of Estoppel: My Libertarian Rights Theory Revisiting Argumentation Ethics Argumentation Ethics and Liberty: A Concise Guide KOL228 | Argumentation Ethics – Lions of Liberty KOL218 | Argumentation Ethics – Patterson in Pursuit KOL161 | Argumentation Ethics, Estoppel, and Libertarian Rights: Adam Smith Forum, Moscow (2014) Hoppe’s Argumentation Ethics and Its Critics New Rationalist Directions in Libertarian Rights Theory, 12:2 Journal of Libertarian Studies: 313-26 (Fall 1996) Punishment and Proportionality: The Estoppel Approach, 12:1 Journal of Libertarian Studies 51 (Spri

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 241. I was a guest yesterday (3/26/18) on Dave Smith's podcast. His description: "Talking Libertarian Legal philosophy with Stephan Kinsella. Topics include how the court systems could work without government and why intellectual property isn't real." We discussed a wide-ranging but fairly high-level array of libertarian theory issues, including how I became a libertarian, the main influencers (Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, Bastiat, Mises, Rothbard), property theory and scarcity, Hoppe's argumentation ethics, praxeology, dualism of various types, and, sigh, yes, intellectual property. Dave even worked in a funny joke about "The Man on the Moon" ... well you'll just have to see for yourself. But he stole it from Steve Martin. Good times. Youtube: https://youtu.be/bV4UFJQtxu4

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 240. https://youtu.be/hXw9BWKXChk From Episode 23 of Cameron Talks Science. Episode 23: Patents and Paywalls: How IP Stifles Scientific Innovation: Stephan Kinsella February 11, 2018 Cameron English The accepted wisdom tells us that intellectual property (IP) laws encourage innovation. Without legal protection for their discoveries, scientists would have no incentive to conduct research and we would lose out on "...life-changing and life-saving new treatments that bring hope to doctors, patients, and patients' families worldwide. " That's a nice story, but my guest today says this seemingly self-evident truth is entirely incorrect. Far from fostering innovation in the sciences, patent attorney and legal scholar Stephan Kinesella argues that intellectual property hampers competition and thus stifles the discovery of new medicines and other technologies. Every year businesses waste millions of dollars in court defending their patents and

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 239. Monday morning phone call, from Mar. 14, 2016, talking nonsense, obsessing over trivia, such as the possible connections between and real meanings of the expressions "money talks, bullshit walks" and "walk the walk, talk the talk". And the problem with the expression "all he cares about is money." And Jeff's idea for an article. And Praeger University and Dennis Praeger. How Millennials can improve their self-esteem by working. I make fun of college students who have time to have a marijuana source (in the 80s). Facebook Live videos versus Google Hangouts. Tucker's hot tub and whether he should put lavender into it, and if he got caught he could pretend it was already there, that some guy named "Big Jim" had done it, and if they didn't believe him we could have a trial about it. Typical meandering, silly, rambling nonsense. This was one of our morning talks, and this time I tried to record it over my iphone using the "record call" option of the "Recorder" app.

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 238. At Libertopia Oct. 12, 2012, I participated in an hour-long IP panel with Charles Johnson, moderated by Butler Shaffer. Transcript below. For my other presentation, and for more details, see KOL236 | Intellectual Nonsense: Fallacious Arguments for IP (Libertopia 2012). Youtube: https://youtu.be/lTWjqn16fGk Libertopia 2012 IP Panel Stephan Kinsella, Charles Johnson, and Butler Shaffer Oct. 12, 2012 Transcript 00:00:00 M: Butler, Shaffer with his Gandalf stick [indiscernible_00:00:03], the great Stephan Kinsella [indiscernible_00:00:10] is he up?  Jeffy Jeff, Jeffy B. 00:00:15 STEPHAN KINSELLA: No.  Charles Johnson. 00:00:17 M: Charles?  Check. 00:00:19 M: Charles. 00:00:21 M: Charles Johnson [indiscernible_00:00:24] so if you guys want to have a seat.  Our general format is, as you imagine, rules free.  So it just – I’ll make statements and take your turns as you see fit. 00:00:36 STEPHAN KINSELLA: I think we need a third chair. 00:00:38 M: Did you wa

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 237. At Libertopia 2012, I delivered a 45-minute talk , "Intellectual Nonsense: Fallacious Arguments for IP," the slides for which are below. I spoke for 45 minutes—well, 40, then the last 5 were taken up by a question from J. Neil Schulman—but only covered the first 25 slides. For more details, see Part 1, at KOL236 | Intellectual Nonsense: Fallacious Arguments for IP (Libertopia 2012). Youtube, Slides, and Transcript below. This podcast is Part 2, covering most of the remaining 41 issues, some of which are noted below. ❧ Topics discussed: IP by Contract It’s in the Constitution! Utilitarian arguments for IP Commerce Dept. Study Prize system Venture Capital/startup funding Questions as Arguments You want something for free! IP abolitionists are not successful creators But you’re a patent lawyer… Okay, I’ll take your stuff and sell it! The plague of plagiarism No innovation without IP Tabarrok: Patent Policy on the Back of a Napk

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 236. [Update: a transcript is now available.] At Libertopia 2012, I delivered a 45-minute talk , "Intellectual Nonsense: Fallacious Arguments for IP" (Oct. 12, 2012), the slides for which are below. I spoke for 45 minutes—well, 40, then the last 5 were taken up by a question from J. Neil Schulman—but only covered the first 25 slides. I covered most of the remaining 41 in a separate recording, Part 2: KOL237. This episode covers issues in the first 25 slides, including: Overview of case against IP: purpose of property patent and copyright: as negative servitudes Absurd Arguments for IP “Serious” Arguments for IP Libertarian Property “Creationism” Rand on rearrangement Good ideas are scarce! IP is just like “property”! All property rights are limited/no property rights are “absolute” Absolute property rights We should “balance” innovation/IP vs. free speech Roots of copyright: censorship Balance: between copyright and freedom of speech H

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 235. This is a short video produced by the Federalist Society (Feb. 6, 2018), featuring me and IP law professor Kristen Osenga (I had met Osenga previously, as a co-panelist at an IP panel at NYU School of Law in 2011). I was pleasantly surprised that the Federalist Society was willing to give the anti-IP side a voice—more on this below. To produce this video, Osenga and I each spoke separately, before a green screen, in studios in our own cities, for about 30 minutes. The editing that boiled this down to about 5 minutes total was superbly done. see also James Stern: Is Intellectual Property Actually Property? [Federalist Society No. 86 LECTURE] Transcript below. From the Federalist Society's shownotes on their Facebook post: Why does the government protect patents, copyrights, and trademarks? Should it? Kristen Osenga and Stephan Kinsella explore the concept of intellectual property and debate its effect on society as a whole. Kristen Osenga, a professor at the Unive

Debating Wright Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 234. This is a debate on IP between me and a noted Bitcoin expert, Craig Wright, hosted and moderated by the Vin Armani show. Transcript below. After the debate I was in London to attend the inaugural 2018 meeting of Mises UK and to hang with my boys Lee Iglody, Jeff Barr, Doug French, and Hans Hoppe, and had challenged Wright to a debate during a few twitter run-ins (still on-going); I accepted and since I happened to be in London, Wright set it up and we did it at a local studio, with Armani moderating from Vegas. Further comments appear on my Facebook post and also on the Youtube post (below). Update [7/17/19]: I had my buddies Jeff Barr and Doug French in the room watching, and after the debate, invited Craig to drinks in the hotel bar. We had an interesting, if a bit bizarre and intense, discussion for an hour or so. But in the ensuing weeks, things between us devolved on Twitter. Wright had promised to produce "proof" of patents stimulating inn