On Intellectual Property Ethics

The subject of this paper is a research to intellectual property rights from the perspective of ethics, expounded the ethical foundation and established the basic principles of intellectual property rights ethics, study and analysis the ethical content and norms in its operation , it also discussed the ethical practice plight in the practical approach to its protection, and endeavour to find the specific solution to solve the ethical conflict of intellectual property rights .It's been seriously censured and reproached since the day intellectual property rights was born. There's never been a thing like intellectual property rights causing so widespread concern and controversy, people vary on their attitudes. The voice of support and opposition come and go and always be the same. In western intellectual property rights theory, there is ethical defense to intellectual property rights, the impact of the most prominent theories are mainly three types: first, the labor theory;second is personality theory; three is utilitarian theory. All three theories have its own historical origins and contemporary representatives and these are from different angles to prove the legitimacy of intellectual property rights' existence, and both of the advantages and weaknesses of the theory are simultaneously existed. Labor theory is based on the labor in the creation of knowledge products, intellectual property is emphasis on the protection of human labor rights; personality theory is based on the personality which is involved in containing of the creative mainbody in knowledge products, claiming that the intellectual property rights is personality; utilitarian theory is based on social welfare increase and society efficiency improvement to prove the legitimacy of intellectual property rights. Three types of ethical theory for intellectual property defense laid a theoretical foundation, and also outlines the basic ethical framework for the protection of intellectual property rights. In their defense, the principles of justice and utilitarian principles emerged, and the humanitarian spirit is latent in it.Intellectual property system is built at a certain values and under the guidance of the ethics, reflected the values and ethics, and its effective operation must abide the certain ethics, accept the ethical's norms and constraints. the basic principles of intellectual property rights ethics is the general and fundamental yardstick of value which is through ethical relationship and the ethics, the common rule which guides and regulates the code of ethics and moral sense, the basic principle to realize and deal with all kinds of knowledge property rights based on the fundamental ethical issues. The basic principles of intellectual property rights include ethical principles of humanity, justice, utilitarian principles and the overall principle of humanity.Humanitarian principles are not only the most basic principles of intellectual property rights ethic, but also the starting point and ultimate goal of the entire arrangement of intellectual property system and the general regulation of the intellectual property system ethic's character. It requires intellectual property rights should protect people's freedom and autonomy, respect people's value and dignity, and promote people's self-realization. Justice is the basic principle of intellectual property rights ethic and the fundamental measure of value and internal basis of intellectual property rights institutional arrangement. Justice principles include three requirements: the impartiality of access to intellectual property rights; the equality to the owners of intellectual property rights; the inviolability of legitimate intellectual property rights. Utilitarian principle run through the settings and operation of the entire process of intellectual property system, it is the fundamental goal of intellectual property system arrangements and people's behavior of selection. Utilitarian principle includes the largest welfare principle, the effectiveness principle, high-efficiency target. The overall principles are the basic ethics and values of international protection of intellectual property rights and the basic standard in accordance with the rationality of international protection of intellectual property rights. It requires the overall benefits as the basic value orientation of intellectual property system and intellectual property protection should safeguard the overall interests; respect the autonomy of intellectual property system in developing countries; cultivate an overall sense of humanity, and promote the harmonious development of intellectual property rights. The operation of intellectual property rights, including intellectual property rights' confering, use, transfer and revenue distribution. Intellectual property rights' confering is the starting point of operation and the largest area of ethical issues. And its basic ethical regulation is justice, with the creative work to access to intellectual property rights is the most fair thing, and investment is also the intellectual property rights obtained through proper channels, but the access to intellectual property rights in the way of investment has brought the ethics of intellectual property rights with the most difficult problems: the alienation of the scientific workforce. The use and transfer of intellectual property rights are an important aspect of the system. The use of intellectual property rights contained numbers of ethical problems.The main criterion, which intellectual property rights use the ethics is autonomy, harmless, beneficial. During the transfer ethics of intellectual property are the code of conduct and value orientation. Code of ethics for the transfer of intellectual property rights are: freedom, equity, beneficial to the interests of the smallest beneficiaries. The proceeds of intellectual property rights are a fundamental right. Revenue distribution is also the focus of ethical problems, it should be legitimately distributed and intellectual property rights shall be distributed in accordance with the creation of value and benefit of the principle of unity. There is conflict in fairness and efficiency existing in revenue distribution of intellectual property rights and that is ultimately rooted in the duality of human existence. Revenue distribution should be based on the fairness in the pursuit of efficiency. Intellectual property revenue distribution should follow the ethical requirements: intellectual property rights owner's proceeds should be directly proportional to their contribution to society; the principle of respecting for differences, making reasonable adjustments to the revenue distribution, and safeguarding the poor's most basic right to survival and develop.The development of technology causes the continuous expansion of intellectual property rights, many new intellectual products have been incorporated into the smart object of intellectual property rights. The expansion of intellectual property right has brought unprecedented new moral dilemmas to the moral life of mankind. There are many examples as follows: Such as patent protection of human genes makes the human moral system face new challenges, because it touches upon the bottom line of human morality, and it even subverts the moral traditions and basic beliefs of human being ; drug patent protection trespasses the right to live and the right to health; copyright monopoly corrodes the right to freedom of information and so on. These moral dilemmas make the practice of intellectual property protection come across many ethical dilemmas, and even strongly challenge the existence of intellectual property itself.Harmony is not only the goal pursued by law but also the objective of social development. The inherent conflict between the morality and law can not be solely resolved by the law itself, we must look to a higher and more universal ethical spirit to overcome the conflict. We must protect the intellectual property properly to promote the sound development of intellectual property rights and to realize the ethical mission that copyright should promote the existence and progress of human being.