Legally, the expression of an idea is a form of property in the United States and most other nations (looking at you, Vatican City). Conceptually, the two questions ("ideas are/are not property") have been debated in the West for centuries. "We stand on the shoulders of giants" lost, and Fichte/Talfourd won. For better and worse, ideas are property.

>Curiously when we talk about science where there is no money, the knowledge is ownerless

USDA grant disbursements for ag science alone would make your eyes bleed.