Resoved: not all property is capital

= Framework = Burden of proof Contrary to what my opponent has claimed, I do not hold the burden of proof. The resolution is “not all property is capital”, meaning pro is making the claim. Criteria for capital As stated before, capital is anything that can be considered a form of wealth, or be used to obtain wealth. There are two ways in which something can be considered capital; if it is financial capital, or if it is working capital. (n) capital (wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value) (n) working capital (assets available for use in the production of further assets) (1) = Arguments = Intellectual Property- a. Art Art is capital, and the Mickey Mouse cartoon is capital. Mickey Mouse can be used to generate revenue. The character can be used to sell a product, such as a T-shirt, or bubble gum. The character can be used to sell the Disney brand, and therefore is an asset of Disney, used to generate a profit. Intellectual property is protected by copyright laws, because it can be used to generate a profit. The reason why someone spends money to patent their intellectual property, is because intellectual property, and patents are both capital; intellectual property can be used to generate a profit, and patents can be used so that others cannot compete using your idea, without paying you a fee. Music is art. Take for example the song “Happy Birthday to you” which was believed in the 80’s to generate an annual-revenue of $1 million, from royalties. If a movie or TV uses the Birthday song, they must pay Warner Communications, who purchased the rights to the song from the Birch Tree Group in 1988. (2) b. Music Until someone sells the rights to their music they will continue generating a profit from the song; this makes the rights to the song an asset, and therefore capital. Because one generates a profit from the song, the song is capital. If someone sells the rights to the song they also make a profit, therefore the rights are also capital. People pay money in order to have a right to a copy of the song, but not to use the song as their own. If someone pirates a song, they are stealing capital from the artist, because they stealing a copy of the song without payment. The song is an asset to the artist. If someone purchases the right to a copy of the artist’s song, such as a CD, they could then resell that right/CD to someone else, if they no longer wish to listen to the song. This makes each copy of the song a form of capital. 2. Sufficiency- a. Currency is not a sufficient standard- Pro claims because he cannot copy and resell a CD he has purchased, he did not purchase capital. As I have already pointed out, when purchasing a CD one is not purchasing the rights to copy and distribute the song, but rather the rights to a single copy of the song, for one’s enjoyment. If one no longer wishes to listen to the song, they may simply resell the CD, or right to the copy. Illegal downloads are theft of capital, because one is illegally obtaining a copy without compensation. b. Advocacy My opponent claims that not all property can be traded; however an artist can sell the rights to his artwork. As I already mentioned, the rights to the song “Happy Birthday to you” has switched hands, from the Birch Tree Group to Warner Communications; if intellectual property could not be traded, than this would be impossible. Again Capital is not just something which can be bought or sold; it is also something which can be used to generate a profit. Take for example Spreadshirt GmbH; if someone uploads a design they created onto their website and other people create a shirt with that design, than the artist who created the design gains a commission. The design helps the artist gain a profit, and thus is capital. (3) If someone writes and article, than sells it on a constant-content.com, they could sell full rights to the article, unique rights, or simply usage rights. If someone purchases usage rights, they may only use a copy of the article once, and cannot resell the article. If they purchase unique rights they may use the article, and no one else would be able to purchase and the article again, but the customer may not resell the article. If someone buys full rights to the article, than not only do they have sole rights to use the unique article, but they may also resell the article. (4) Full rights are worth more than unique rights, and unique rights are worth more than usage rights. Each right is a form of capital, and is intellectual property. 1. http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu... 2. http://www.ibiblio.org... 3. http://www.spreadshirt.com... 4. https://www.constant-content.com...