KOL483 | The Economics and Ethics of Intellectual Property, Loyola University—New Orleans

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 483. I delivered the following lecture yesterday: “The Economics and Ethics of Intellectual Property,” Loyola Economics Club and Louisiana Mu chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon, Loyola University—New Orleans, Miller Hall (12:30 pm–1:45 pm, Feb. 24, 2026). Hosts were the aforementioned Econ club and econ honor society, as well as Walter Block and Leo Krasnozhon. (( Leo Krasnozhon, “Walter Block on Externality, Public Goods, and Voluntary Government“ (pp. 391–399). )) Audio for the Q&A portion was poor due to some technical mishaps, but has been boosted as much as possible. Slides streamed below. Pictures, transcript and shownotes below. https://youtu.be/rrFHYJ53C8g Related: Locke, Smith, Marx; the Labor Theory of Property and the Labor Theory of Value; and Rothbard, Gordon, and Intellectual Property KOL472 | “What Is Property? And What Is Not? — Part 2 — Fireside Chat on Intellectual Property with Albert Lu,” Capitalism & Morality (Vancouver) KOL471 | “What Is Property? And What Is Not? — Part 1,” Capitalism & Morality (Vancouver) The Problem with Intellectual Property (2026) Stephan Kinsella, Legal Foundations of a Free Society (Houston, Texas: Papinian Press, 2023) Photos Shownotes (Grok) Shownotes: Stephan Kinsella – “The Economics and Ethics of Intellectual Property” Loyola University New Orleans Economics Club & Omicron Delta Epsilon February 24, 2026 (KOL 483 podcast) Approximate timestamps based on transcript pacing (~70-minute total runtime) 00:00 – Welcome and Introduction Leo Krasnozhon opens the event, welcoming attendees despite a boil advisory and introducing Stephan Kinsella as a retired patent lawyer, LSU alumnus (undergrad and law school), and longtime Mises Institute affiliate who has collaborated with Walter Block. He highlights the topic of intellectual property rights, admits his own limited knowledge of it, notes the co-sponsorship with Omicron Delta Epsilon (with chapter president Emily Tion present), and passes the floor to Tyler, president of the Economics Club, to officially begin. 01:25 – Brief Co-Sponsor Welcome An Omicron Delta Epsilon representative offers a short welcome and mentions that a Q&A session will follow the presentation. 01:35 – Stephan Kinsella: Personal Background and Path to Anti-IP Views Kinsella thanks the hosts—Omicron Delta Epsilon, the Loyola Economics Club, Walter Block, and Leo Krasnozhon—and recalls his long acquaintance with Block (both former Mises senior fellows). He recounts his career: beginning law practice around 1992 in Houston (initially oil and gas), shifting to intellectual property and patent law, with stints in Philadelphia before returning home. As a longtime libertarian, Austrian economist, and anarchist, he initially assumed intellectual property was legitimate property, partly influenced by Ayn Rand’s support for it. However, he found her arguments unpersuasive—especially the fact that patents and copyrights expire while physical property like land and cars does not. When he became both a patent attorney and a libertarian scholar, he set out to develop a strong defense of IP but ultimately concluded the system is deeply flawed and should be abolished. He reached this view around 1994, shortly after passing the patent bar, and initially kept quiet while practicing, later speaking openly once he realized his professional peers were indifferent to his opinions. ~03:28 – Talk Overview and Recommended Readings The presentation is titled “The Economics and Ethics of Intellectual Property,” deliberately echoing Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s The Economics and Ethics of Private Property. Kinsella plans to speak for roughly 30–40 minutes, leaving ample time for questions. He acknowledges the topic’s breadth—having previously taught a six-week online Mises Academy course on it in 2011—and notes his deep interest in legal theory, IP theory, Louisiana civil law (where he authored a civil law dictionary), and international law, all interconnected through an economic lens. He recommends his own published works (shown on a slide) as primary sources, along with Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine’s empirical book Against Intellectual Monopoly for further reading. ~05:02 – Defining Intellectual Property and Scope of Critique Intellectual property refers to legal protections for “products of the mind.” The two primary statutory forms are patents and copyrights, which are legislated monopolies rather than common-law institutions. Other types that emerged from common law include trademarks, trade secrets, and defamation (which Kinsella argues belongs in the IP category because reputation rights protected by defamation law suffer from the same conceptual flaws as trademark rights). More recent or special-interest forms include boat-hull designs, semiconductor mask works, personality/name/image/likeness rights (now prominent for college athletes), moral rights, and da