The Fetishism of Commodities by Karl Marx - Morgan, Peter, JS and Nicolas

In the Fetishism of Commodities, Marx analyses the attribution of value to the objects created in a society based on capitalist production. He says that when objects become commodities, the notion of intrinsic value is warped, since a new social value is bestowed to the item. In a capitalist society, factors of value, like the quantity of human labour, the quality of it or the cost of the materials used do not determine anymore the utility value of the commodity. Instead, a value is assigned extended from the social relations of the men who produce the commodities, which then are imbedded in the commodities themselves. This social construct of value is, according to Marx, deeply rooted in Capitalism and it creates a Fetishism of commodities that is inherent to the exchange process of the production. Throughout the text, he also explores the notions of value in different types of production systems, like Feudalism, an individual self-sustaining system (Robinson Crusoe's case) and he proposes another system (Communism) where the distribution of commodities has a direct proportion with the labour time employs in its making.

Discussing about what a commodity is we agreed upon that it is an object of social value that is non-dependent from its labour cost and its physical properties. This assigned value is unmistakably given by the hegemonic view in society and it is diffused and enlarged by the media. In our capitalist world, the designation of social values onto commodities is done by the upper classes, which control and determine, both, media and production. A perfect example of this value distortion can be seen with the iPod phenomenon. The real or exchange value of the gadget could be determined by the number of microchips and electronic components involved plus the man labour done in the process. The use value, dictated by social parameters, is far greater since it stratifies, classifies and elevates those who acquire it. This way, people don't just buy commodities for their utility; they do it for what they stand for. In the capitalist system, this misdistribution of value feeds off the markets and the economy in a never-ending loop. This process occurs with produced objects, but what about non-material things, like ideas and concepts? Could intellectual property be considered as a commodity? After all, it is exchangeable, it is the product of man-labour and it has social assigned values (i.e. Star Wars IP).

Question: If intellectual property is considered to be a commodity, does it require a capitalist society for its existence and value attribution?