productivity miracle or workhouse?

[Michael Perelman]

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