KOL485 | The Brownstone Show, with Jeffrey Tucker: Defamation and Intellectual Property

About this episode

Stephan Kinsella discusses the rejection of defamation law as a form of intellectual property with Jeffrey Tucker.

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 485. My recent appearance on The Brownstone Show, Ep. 17 (twitter video). https://youtu.be/n_HE_nXf3aM?si=3eYpF5jW5HadXwJD&t=1942 From Brownstone's shownotes: Jeffrey Tucker sits down with Stephan Kinsella...libertarian attorney, author of the seminal 2001 essay "Against Intellectual Property", and the massive treatise "Legal Foundations of a Free Society"...for a provocative discussion on why defamation (libel and slander) law should be rejected as just another form of intellectual property right. Kinsella argues that reputation is not ownable property. What others think of you cannot be controlled or turned into a legal entitlement. Defamation law, like patents, copyrights, and trademarks, rests on the flawed idea that the state should protect intangible "rights" through force. He explains how these laws create chilling effects, perverse incentives, and actually amplify the harm of false speech rather than reduce it. Topics covered include: Why intellectual property (including trademarks and defamation) is incompatible with true property rights and free markets The historical and common-law roots of defamation and how it morphed into…

People in this episode

Host: Stephan Kinsella

Guest: Jeffrey Tucker

Topics covered

• defamation
• intellectual property
• free speech
• libertarianism
• reputation
• law

Keywords

• defamation
• intellectual property
• libel
• slander
• free markets
• reputation
• law
• libertarian
• speech

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Brownstone Show

Books & works: Against Intellectual Property, Legal Foundations of a Free Society

More episodes of Kinsella On Liberty

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• KOL489 | The Problem with Intellectual Property (Audio) · May 5, 2026 · 58 min
• KOL488 | My Years with the Mises Institute · May 3, 2026 · 2h 12m
• KOL487 | Stephan Kinsella, “Mises, Rothbard, Hoppe: An Indispensable Framework” (Rothbard at 100) · April 27, 2026 · 39 min
• KOL486 | Mark Edge Show: Kinsella, Hoppe, Mises Institute · April 16, 2026