Functionality, Information Works, and Copyright

It has become the practice to claim copyright protection for virtually every piece of ‘writing’ or its electronic equivalent, created by knowledge professionals — from business plans for a start-up company to the instruction manual for use of a motorized saw and to specifications for pipeline tenders. This paper posits that the legal doctrine of copyright was never intended, and is not equipped, to regulate the very building block of our society-information. When used to protect utilitarian information products (UIW) en masse, copyright can impede the flow of information necessary for innovation, foster waste in the form of redundant creation and adversely impact competition in the market.