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IP Things as Boundary Objects: The Case of the Copyright Work

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  • Michael J. Madison

    (School of Law, University of Pittsburgh, 3900 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA)

Abstract

The goal of this article is to initiate the exploration of the meanings and functions of the things of intellectual property: the work of authorship (or copyright work) in copyright, the invention in patent, and the mark and the sign in trademark. The article focuses firstly on the example of copyright work. Relevant challenges are both technological and conceptual, because these things blend the material and the immaterial. Works are neither as clearly defined nor as clearly limited as copyright law often suggests they are. To explain and justify that proposition, the article borrows from information science literature exploring boundary objects, which are stable physical and intangible things that align distinct but overlapping communities of practice in flexible ways, via interpretive openness. The article shows that the meanings of the work in copyright law can be unified conceptually in the sense that the work operates as a boundary object across a number of different legal and cultural divides. This view of the work clarifies the distinct status of relevant communities and practices in copyright but also bridges them in copyright’s construction and governance of culture. None of the boundaries represented in these boundary objects is fixed or impermeable. Their very dynamic and sometimes porous character is precisely the governance role illuminated here.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael J. Madison, 2017. "IP Things as Boundary Objects: The Case of the Copyright Work," Laws, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-44, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlawss:v:6:y:2017:i:3:p:13-:d:108537
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vicky Singleton & John Law, 2013. "Devices As Rituals," Journal of Cultural Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(3), pages 259-277, August.
    2. Elinor Ostrom, 2010. "Beyond Markets and States: Polycentric Governance of Complex Economic Systems," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(3), pages 641-672, June.
    3. Michael K. Buckland, 1997. "What is a “document”?," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 48(9), pages 804-809, September.
    4. Joel Mokyr, 2016. "A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10835.
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