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Valuable Asset Or Vibrant Force? Intellectual Property And Conceptions Of Culture, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa

Olufunmilayo B. Arewa

Discussions of intellectual property as property often implicitly rely upon conceptions of value that give primacy to economic and business value while dismissing or even ignoring questions of cultural value. Questions of cultural value are, however, fundamental to discussions of intellectual property today. Discussions of intellectual property often emphasize treating cultural material as valuable assets and highlight the role of intellectual property in protecting such assets. Valuable asset models of culture accentuate the business and economic utility of intellectual property assets. Valuable asset approaches, however, typically reflect an incomplete understanding of the roles of culture and the intersection of culture …