Intellectual property

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Intellectual property is an intangible form of private property under capitalism that includes copyright and patents. It serves to establish scarcity on otherwise infinitely reproducible commodities, typically technology or art.

Monopoly control

Since the mid-1990s, international monopolies have controlled 80% of the world's patents and technology transfers. The total interstate licensing income from intellectual property was $272 billion in 2016, including $80 billion of net income to the USA. The USA controls 45% of intellectual property exports, the EU controls 24%, and Japan controls 14%.

Patents on technology cause monopolization and increase the prices of prescription drugs by over 300%, from a total of under $105 billion per year in the U.S. to over $420 billion.