Intellectual property as an independent concept of legal science: a value-legal approach to definition

Abstract

In the work, the author proved the theoretical and practical expediency of the analysis of intellectual property as a component of the conceptual and categorical apparatus of legal science and an element of legal terminology. It is noted that the subject of the research is important from the point of view of the general methodological importance of studying and improving the concepts and categories of jurisprudence, as well as the terminology used in the acts of law-making. It is pointed out that the ambiguity of the doctrinal understanding of intellectual property, as well as the vagueness of its demarcation from other related categories of legal science (for example, intellectual property law, real property law, copyright law, related rights, patent law, etc.), causes today the ambiguity of the conceptual definition of intellectual property, insufficiency of its legal consolidation as an independent term of jurisprudence.
 The analysis of doctrinal ideas about intellectual property as an independent concept of legal science was carried out and their generalization was carried out within the limits of special-administrative, formal- legal and broad approaches. It is concluded that the spread of the provisions of the proprietary theory of intellectual property and the theory of exclusive rights in legal science led to the polarization of approaches to the conceptual definition of intellectual property. Therefore, today, in the doctrinal plan, intellectual property has a debatable nature of definition, which is determined primarily by its nature and essence.
 The author emphasized that even the specified generalized approaches to defining the concept of intellectual property leave in the shade the main aspect of this legal institution, namely its value-legal dimension. It is the value-legal approach that can be used for the appropriate perception of intellectual property, which accumulates in itself, develops and constitutes an integral part of the system of socio­cultural values. Therefore, the specified approach is methodologically important for the formulation and justification of the appropriate definition of the concept of «intellectual property». The advantages of such an approach to conceptual analysis in theoretical and legal research are that it allows for the formation of cognitive orientation in the knowing subject through the development of ideas about worldview values in nature and society.