Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Re: The Lie of "IP"
Author: Dave Rogers Posted: 8/31/2000; 12:13:46 PM Topic: The Lie of "IP" Msg #: 20598 (In response to 20577) Prev/Next: 20597 / 20599
This analysis has at least a few flaws. First, intellectual property isn't a lie, rather it is a legal concept, a means of defining something which is somewhat ephemeral in nature. I'll grant that calling it a lie is a literary device to suggest the concept is now without merit.But that is incorrect also. Even the people who build things out of atoms rely on the concept of intellectual property and the laws created to protect it, to protect the scarcity of atoms in particular configurations. The iMac is a case in point. I'm sure Chrysler wouldn't like Ford copying their car designs down to everything but the badge and selling them as Fords. So even atom-builders rely on intellectual property laws.
The law, and therefore the concept of intellectual property, will have to change to reflect the changes in technology. Because the means to violate the law has become so affordable, enforcement becomes vastly more costly. Laws are only as effective as they are enforceable.
But to suggest that the concept of intellectual property is no longer worthy of merit, simply because it's not very costly (it certainly isn't free) to transport and duplicate it, is too shallow an analysis.
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