Intellectual Property as Personal Liberty

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz fought throughout her life to claim ownership of her intellectual output—her poetry, theology, and scientific inquiry—in a system designed to deny women property rights and intellectual agency. This concept frames intellectual property not as mere economic asset but as an extension of bodily autonomy and freedom of conscience. For libertarian justice, it establishes that freedom requires the right to own the fruits of one's mind. Sor Juana's refusal to surrender her pen, even under pressure from the Church, demonstrates that justice demands protection of intellectual property as a prerequisite to self-determination. Without ownership of one's ideas, one cannot be truly free to think, write, or exist as a sovereign agent.