Verbraucherschutz durch Geistiges Eigentum? Über die Zweckmäßigkeit den Schutzzweck zu erweitern

Intellectual Property is at present suffering from a crisis of legitimation and therefore has to strive to regain public acceptance. This presupposes that the market actors-and in particular consumers-appreciate both the fairness implied in the attribution of intellectual goods and estimate their gain from fostering and protecting innovation by means of intellectual property law. Against this background the paper analyses in how far the law of intellectual property serves the interest of the consumer. It is inter alia set out that the system of intellectual property on the one hand contributes to the variety of products available in the market and the price setting mechanism and on the other provides a considerable amount of information, which is relevant for the consumer. These effects promote consumer interests and could be strengthened. Despite this positive aspects it is held that the aims of intellectual property law and the interests of consumer may overlap, but to attribute IP-law as a means of consumer protection would not only disregard the main intention of this area of law, but also be misleading-if not hypo-critical. Das Recht des Geistigen Eigentums befindet sich in einer Legitimationskrise, zu deren Überwindung die Akzeptanz der Bürger wieder gewonnen werden muss. Dies setzt voraus, dass diese neben dem der Zuordnung geistiger Güter immanenten Gerechtigkeitswert den Nutzen der Förderung und des Schutzes geistiger Schöpfungen anerkennen. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht der nachfolgende Beitrag, ob das Recht des Geistigen Eigentums dem Verbraucher dient und wie dieser Aspekt gestärkt werden könnte.