ABSTRACT
The linkages between the legal system and knowledge — mediated by other social institutions in modern societies, in particular the economic system — are bound to multiply. The main argument is the economic incentive for inventors to invent, for creators to be creative, and for scientists to do research. As scientific knowledge is "applied," it becomes embedded in social contexts external to science. The social sciences are challenged to ask how the existing legal frames adapt to the evolving markets, and how the legal system might cope in order to inject a measure of fairness and equity into the distribution of knowledge. The whole area of national and international intellectual property and copyright protection is another arena in which legislation to control the deployment of scientific and technical knowledge is extensive. There is a complicated relation between science, economic progress, and the law.
