This book examines the development of the concept of intellectual property in the United States during the nineteenth century.

Owning Ideas is a comprehensive account of the emergence of the concept of intellectual property in the United States during the long nineteenth century. In the

The recent proliferation of intellectual property has caused much public disagreement over the nature and legitimacy of owning immaterial goods. How is it that

Formally, ownership of ideas is legally impossible, and can never be globally secured. Yet, in very real and significant ways these limits have been undone. In

HANDICRAFTS, DECORATIVE ARTS & CRAFTS. An ideabook can be many things: a keepsake; a work of art; a source of inspiration; a method of organisation; a collectio