Moreoften than not, intellectual property and the ownership of intellectualproperty is traced back to its phiosophical roots of labour. According toprevalent views, copyright has two facets: the proerty rights which are objectsof commerce and which terminate after the period fixed by law; and the moralright which is inalienably attached to the person of the author.  The ontological approach to the theories oflabour is often accepted as being the accurate approach while applying theNatural law theory and Labour law theory ie., the approach of treating propertyhaving certain characteristics that can be fit into a certain mould. The concept of self-ownership of property has esentially gone through severalchanges owing to the societal advancements and contingencies pertaining to thedifferent ages and the theories of several eminent philosophers.  However, John Locke’s theory of labour is foundto be the most relatable to intellectual property rights.

John Locke’sjustification of private property rights in the Second Treatise on Governmentis the most common of the intrinsic or natural rights theories of intellectualproperty which essentially highlights two important aspects viz., the ownershipof property is an innate way of survival and that it stems from the fact thatall human beings are under the direction of the Almighty to sustain themselvesand that property is a very natural and imperative need. Thus, to sum it up, Locke’stheory posits at least three divinely ordained facts: that God put humans onearth to flourish, that God gave the earth and its contents to humans incommon, and that God has given property rights to people over themselves andtheir labor. These presuppositions form a large part of the foundation ofLocke’s theory of property