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PRESS RELEASE
September 10, 2015
For More Information: Contact Randolph J. May at 301-9848253 or 202-2859926 
 
Free State Foundation President Randolph May and FSF Senior Fellow Seth Cooper Publish a New Book, The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property: A Natural Rights Perspective
 
ROCKVILLE, MD - Randolph May, President of the Free State Foundation, and FSF Senior Fellow Seth Cooper's new book, The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property: A Natural Rights Perspective, has just been released by Carolina Academic Press.
 
The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property: A Natural Rights Perspective, is now available from Amazon and from Carolina Academic Press.
 
 
About the Book
 
Protection of intellectual property (IP) rights is indispensable to maintaining a vibrant economy, especially in the digital age as creativity and innovation increasingly take intangible forms. Long before the digital age, however, the U.S. Constitution secured the IP rights of authors and inventors to the fruits of their labors. This new book explores the foundational underpinnings of intellectual property that informed the Constitution of 1787, and it explains how these concepts informed the further development of intellectual property rights from the First Congress through Reconstruction. The book addresses the contributions of important figures such as John Locke, George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Noah Webster, Joseph Story, Daniel Webster, and Abraham Lincoln to the development of IP rights within the context of American constitutionalism.
 
Claims that copyrights and patents are not property at all are in fashion today in some quarters. This book challenges those dubious claims. Unlike other works that offer a strictly pragmatic or utilitarian defense of intellectual property rights, this book seeks to recover the Constitution's understanding of IP rights as ultimately grounded in the natural rights of authors and inventors.
                                       
 
What Others Are Saying About the Book
 
"A fascinating, illuminating and insightful exploration of the roots of intellectual property law in America. Essential for students, teachers and practitioners in the field. Intellectually sound and highly readable." - Theodore Olson, Solicitor General of the United States, 2001-2004
 
"The current proposals for copyright and patent reform are often stated in an impatient manner, as if there were only one side to a difficult problem. It is therefore refreshing to have this book by Randolph May and Seth Cooper that offers a careful and instructive exploration of the larger natural law foundations of modern intellectual property law and shows how the traditional concerns of the natural lawyers lend added weight to the soundness of the current IP system." - Richard Epstein, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law and Director, Classical Liberal Institute, New York University School of Law
 
"Given the importance of the protection of intellectual property rights to our nation's economy and to innovation and investment, this book addressing the constitutional foundations and philosophical underpinnings of IP rights provides a valuable antidote to the all too prevalent and damaging populist view that 'information wants to be free.'" - Robert Atkinson, President, Information Innovation & Technology Foundation
 
"I loved the book, and I hope it finds a large audience. Over the years, I've had many people tell me my interpretation of the Constitution's Intellectual Property Clause was wrong. Hopefully, this new book by Randolph May and Seth Cooper, with its scholarly yet highly readable treatment, will refocus the debate about IP rights on first principles and our Founders' intentions." - Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights of the United States, 1994-2011
 
"This is an essential volume for anyone who cares about the Constitution and intellectual property. The Framers thought intellectual property was important enough to provide for its protection expressly in the Constitution. This book provides invaluable insights into the Framers' decision and should inform contemporary debates about the nature of that protection." - Paul Clement, Solicitor General of the United States, 2005-2008
 
"Randolph May and Seth Cooper have authored a welcome addition to the literature on intellectual property rights. Well-researched and clearly written, this book provides an invaluable historical perspective that will contribute significantly to the ongoing debates about the conceptual underpinnings of copyright and patent law." - Cary Sherman, Chairman and CEO of RIAA
 
"Finally, two talented authors add intellectual heft to the ongoing debate about the true nature of copyright-as an exclusive private property right, or as a limited right to be doled out stingily, riddled with exceptions and limitations, to be given away free-of-charge. It has become fashionable in some academic circles to treat copyright exclusivity as a quaint but outmoded notion, and its advocates as hopeless na�fs. But Mr. May and Mr. Cooper, by going back to first principles and natural rights, show us that an exclusive property right is at the heart of copyright protection. Their learned analysis should be widely read, especially by Members of Congress and judges, to help them understand the true nature of the debate and the deep roots of the copyright pedigree as a natural private property right-historically unique, socially revolutionary, and worth fighting for. Three cheers for Messrs. May and Cooper!" - Ralph Oman, Register of Copyrights of the United States, 1985-1993
 
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The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property: A Natural Rights Perspective is available on Amazon and from Carolina Academic Press
   
 
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Randolph J. May, President of the Free State Foundation, is a former FCC Associate General Counsel and a former Chairman of the American Bar Association's Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice. Mr. May is a current public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and a Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration.
  
Mr. May is a nationally recognized expert in communications law, Internet law and policy, and administrative law and regulatory practice. He is the author of more than 180 scholarly articles and essays on communications law and policy, administrative law, and constitutional law. Most recently, Mr. May is the co-author, with FSF Senior Fellow Seth Cooper, of The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property and is the editor of the book, Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years. He is the author of A Call for a Radical New Communications Policy: Proposals for Free Market Reform. And he is the editor of the book, New Directions in Communications Policy and co-editor of other two books on communications law and policy: Net Neutrality or Net Neutering: Should Broadband Internet Services Be Regulated? and Communications Deregulation and FCC Reform.
 
Seth L. Cooper is a Senior Fellow at the Free State Foundation. His work on federal communications and technology policy at the Free State Foundation began in 2009. Mr. Cooper served as judicial clerk to the Honorable James Johnson at the Washington State Supreme Court. He has worked in law and policy staff positions at the Washington State Senate and at the Discovery Institute. Mr. Cooper is a 2009 Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute.
 
Mr. Cooper previously contributed to two chapters in Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age (2012), published by Carolina Academic Press. His work has also appeared in such publications as CommLaw Conspectus, the Gonzaga Law Review, the San Jose Mercury News, Forbes, the Des Moines Register, the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Examiner, and the Washington Times.
    
The Free State Foundation is a non-profit, independent free market-oriented think tank.

    
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