David Post, writing at the Volokh Conspiracy, recommends a recent paper from Mark Lemley (“IP in a World Without Scarcity“) that summarizes the state of intellectual property law.
It’s a sound recommendation, and well worth following to Prof. Lemley’s paper.
Here’s Post’s assessment:
If I were still teaching a class on IP law, or Law and the Internet, I think I’d start with Lemley’s paper, in its entirety. Much — maybe even most or all – of what he talks about has been said before; but like all really effective summary pieces, it imposes order on some otherwise very chaotic disconnected threads, so that the Big Picture comes very, very clearly into focus. Most highly recommended.
See, from David Post, What everyone needs to know about intellectual property law @ Volokh Conspiracy.
Mark Lemley’s paper is available at the SSRN, to read online or download.