As patentes e o regime de informação global emergente

Abstract

Introduction:The theme of patents is discussed through a perspective that establishes interlocutions between the Information Science and the Political Economy. Objective:The aim of the article is to answer the following question: which contributions to apprehend the role of the patent laws in the current socioeconomics dynamics can be presented by a study of the historical evolution of these legal apparatuses? Methodology:The historical development of the patent laws is analyzed through the lenses of the Political Economy and of the Information Science. The analysis, guided by a dialectical point of view, adopts the principles of the social information field: historicity, totality and tensionality. Results:The genesis of the legislation that rules the patent system is discussed, emphasizing the motivations for the creation of these laws and the contradictions of their evolution. The theme is examined through the comparison of intellectual property with the primitive accumulation and pre-capitalist enclosures. The information regime is adopted to problematize the role of patents in the current socioeconomic dynamics. Conclusions:The patent laws are inserted in a new global information regime, in which they represent an instrument of economic power that is increasingly relevant at the global level.