productivity miracle or workhouse?

Michael Perelman michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Tue Feb 15 09:44:17 PST 2000


Doug, you're right to associate intellectual property with branding. At the turn of the last century, Quaker Oats and the National Biscuit Co. took plain old oats and barrel's full of biscuits and made them into branded goods, suddenly increasing the value.

I never thought of this has a new economic paradigm, but rather something that is becoming increasingly important in our society.

However, the intellectual property phenomenon is rapidly increasing. A Monsanto seed contract tells the farmer that he or she is renting intellectual property rather than owning the seeds.

Doug Henwood wrote:


> Sounds like you're saying that a lot of the IP hoopla is a fresh take
> on branding - a rebranding of the branding concept? - which has a
> pretty long pedigree in marketing. Seems a bit of a stretch to make
> it into a new economic paradigm.

--

Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901



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