Copyright

Arguments can be made both in favor and against increased copyright and intellectual property protection. Given that much of today’s inventions/advancements have been built off of other/older technologies, more protection has the potential to limit technological advancement by curbing an individual’s creativity and usage of an older technology when trying to develop a new one. This in turn impedes overall technological development. Conversely, one may argue, however, that even though another product/idea was used, an entirely new product/concept was created and does not infringe on anyone’s rights.

Overall, everyone has to the right to have their ideas protected and to insure that others do not profit from it. Accordingly, if one person wants to use the idea or invention of another, then the creator should be compensated. The degree of compensation creates another issue in that who defines what an idea/product worth is.

Policymakers consider externalities when setting energy and environmental policies so as to keep the market running in an efficient manner, as such policies may have an overall effect on pricing leading to an effect on competition. An example of a (negative) externality