Can we ever really own ideas?
A unique perspective on Intellectual Property
Hey there, you good?
Big arguments on bitcoin X this month.
The topic? Intellectual Property (IP).
Few people in the freedom space seem to agree on whether we can or should own ideas.
Here’s our take.
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Maximum Freedom
Many libertarians have wildly different opinions on whether Intellectual Property (IP) can be legitimate under a free market.
Before we get into an argument, let’s set down some terms.
IP encompasses these 4 areas:
Copyright
Granted to the creator of original works, including literary, dramatic, musical, and certain other intellectual works, providing exclusive rights for their use and distribution indefinitely by default or for a limited time by a contract.
Patent
Granted by a state violence monopoly for an invention, which allows the patent holder to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a limited period.
Trade Secret
Confidential information that gives a business a competitive edge.
Trademark
A symbol, design, or phrase legally registered to represent a company or product, distinguishing it from others in the marketplace.
We’re not talking about Trademarks or trade secrets here. We’ll focus on copyright - it’s sort of our wheelhouse as a publisher.
Why the debate now?
The sudden interest in IP rights in the libertarian community stems from digital media. In 2025, virtually every idea we consume is digital.
Digital means replicable. Instantly. At near-zero cost.
So, how do we think about property in a world where copies cost nothing, and distribution is unstoppable?
Copyright is exactly what it sounds like. The right to copy a work of art or intellect.
It came about in the 18th century as a way to ensure that thinkers and artists could control the distribution of their work. No one else could copy it and profit. Historically, the idea was that if a printer reproduced a poet’s work without permission, he was unjustly profiting from the poet’s efforts.
Fair, right?
Wrong.
Let’s not mention fairness, as doing so leads to talk of the ‘greater good’, which inevitably leads to collectivism and socialism, and ultimately to destruction.
Instead, let’s talk about contracts. It is much cleaner to think that all rights are granted through private contracts, rather than being inherent. Because if rights were inherent, any opinion may be considered a “right” based on subjective value theory. For example, I don’t have the “right” to be recognized as a dog because I didn’t sign a contract with anyone.
I am still free to bark. No one can stop me. But I can’t enforce my canine identity without an agreement. That would be a violation of the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP).
Suppose a 19th-century entrepreneurial printer copied a famous work of poetry and sold new copies. They would be engaging in theft in two ways: 1. breaching the original copyright, unless the original producer published directly into the public domain, and 2. passing a forgery as the original product, which is theft and a crime against the customers on the market.
Now, in 2025, most content, art, and expression of ideas are digital. Let’s look at the above example in the information age.
It can be copied at zero cost and distributed for free on the Internet. In the digital age, no one loses possession of anything when a copy is made. So what’s actually being taken?
“But there is still value in the idea.”
No. There is value in executing the idea.
The ideas behind books, videos, and so on can be described as ideal, non-scarce objects, as they exist outside of space and time and thus, cannot be property (unless acted upon).
You can’t own (raw) ideas.
According to Stephan Kinsella, author of Against Intellectual Property,
“A system of property rights in “ideal objects” necessarily requires violation of other individual property rights, e.g., to use one’s own tangible property as one sees fit.”
i.e., IP law is unjustified, as use by others does not take anything away from the creator. This is not true for physical property (which is scarce). If you take my apple at knifepoint, I have lost something delicious (and you are an asshole).
Kinsella sees copyright and patent as unjustified. And yes, before you ask, his book is available for free.
This month, we go back to the Mises Institute for our Maximum Freedom Resource. Stephan Kinsella’s book can be read in one sitting.
Compensation for creative ideas and the work to produce them is a different question.
Property rights can only include what is homesteaded, cultivated, or acted upon. Unless a resource is scarce, its adoption and reuse do not harm the creator. Just look at what’s happening with AI.
Are Studio Ghibli Executives employing lawyers to sue internet users for ‘stealing their apples?’ No.
Conditional knowledge
According to Rothbard, if someone gains access to an idea via contract — for example, I show you my invention on the condition you don’t share it — and you break that contract, you’ve violated a residual property right tied to that conditional access.
You’re not guilty of stealing an idea. You’re guilty of violating a contract.
You see where we are going with this, right? Say goodbye to the naïve notion “information should be free and thus cannot be property” and welcome a more nuanced and based reality.
Our take:
Can ideas be property? Yes. If acted on.
Does this property require state enforcement? No.
No property does.
“But then anyone can take my idea and make it better!”
Yes. That’s the point. You can improve your idea or come up with a better one. But you have to take action.
“But anyone can make money from my idea.” Yes, if you made your idea public domain. No, if you staked your claim in the market.
Ideas are free, but not the capital goods that can be derived from them.
My idea for a book is free; take it. My book is not free; buy it.
If you take my book and sell it as your own, I will come for you. By staking my claim, I have made my idea scarce by acting as its steward and protector.
Action-Based Property
A framework of ownership that emerges through acts of creation, use, and cultivation. Not established by exclusion or enforcement, but by participation and ongoing contribution.
So, here’s where we land at Konsensus Network.
Ideas are free. But the actions taken to cultivate, monetize, and protect those ideas are not. You don’t own an idea because you thought of it. You own the capital goods you created by putting the idea to use, packaging it, distributing it, and entering into contracts with others regarding it.
That’s not a moral claim. That’s a praxeological fact.
As a publishing house, we deal with this every day.
We publish books that are available in both print and digital formats. Some are free. Some are paid. Some are forked, remixed, translated, and improved.
We don’t believe in state-backed IP laws or patents. We believe in private contracts and free markets.
If you buy a book from us, you’ve entered into a voluntary contract: You purchased or downloaded a copy. And that copy is now your property.
You didn’t buy the right to resell or monetize it as your own.
This is no different from renting land, licensing software, or signing a non-disclosure agreement. The terms in the contract define the ownership.
This is Action-Based Property.
Not enforced by law but revealed by action.
We believe in our decentralized method of spreading free ideas and helping authors and artists, including both those who work for free and those who seek to monetize their work. Whichever one you choose, we invite you to share the digital property of Konsensus Network with your friends and family.
If you'd like to make money by copying and selling our work, get in touch, and we’ll make it happen! Or sign up as an affiliate right now! Join the Konsensus Affiliate Network now and get your 10% discount code with 10% commission.
Whether you pay or not, we welcome your support in unlocking the ideas within them.
Minimum Bullshit
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Win two tickets to the show by telling us your favorite bitcoin video here.Rupture Monétaire (Broken Money in French) is now available in presale. Publication is scheduled for May.
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Worth a read:
Visit the up-and-coming media outlet and home to quality bitcoin journalism, Bitesize Media.
That’s all for now.
Keep livin’ free.
This was interesting. Thank you.