TechDirt's Mike Masnick

Summary: Critical thinking from TechDirt merits special attention

ONE of the most effective Web sites when it comes to fighting intellectual monopolies would definitely be TechDirt. It's a great site! Today it asks, "Rather Than Considering Information 'Property,' What About Looking At Productive vs. Destructive Uses?"

There is also a link to "Modern Day Protectionism" [via]

The consumer entertainment industry lobbyists lie. They lie over, and over, and over. They lie to the media, they lie to the politicians, they lie to you. The lies in question are rarely looked upon critically by the media or the politicians, only by grassroots opposition. The main lies involved are all variations on the same theme; copying equals theft. That is to say, if you copy a piece of data – be it a software program, a song, a movie, a book, that makes you a thief. You're depriving the producer of that work of money which they supposedly have a right to.

I don't know, maybe I wasn't "educated" well enough in government schools, but no matter how I twist and turn my logic, I still fail to see how this even remotely makes sense. If I walk into a store and leave with a jacket for which I have not paid then I have deprived the store's owner of his or her justly acquired, tangible property. They have one less jacket. They are directly harmed by my action.

[...]

For an extended discourse and refutation of the other ones, as well as a more in-depth take on copyright, I recommend to the reader Stephan Kinsella's brilliant essay Against Intellectual Property.

TechDirt later brings up the question, "What If The Very Theory That Underlies Why We Need Patents Is Wrong?"

But, of course, patents are designed to make that sort of thing more difficult, because it assumes that the initial act of invention is the key point, rather than all the incremental innovations built on top of it that all parties can benefit from. In fact, the report points to numerous studies that show, when given the chance, many companies freely share their ideas with others, recognizing the direct benefit they get. This flies in the face of (unsubstantiated) claims by patent system supporters that the patent system is needed to disclose and share inventions. In fact, the evidence suggests that in many cases, firms will willingly share that information anyway (for a variety of reasons detailed in the report) without requiring the "prize" of a monopoly right to do so.

Here is the corresponding paper which TechDirt references. It necessitates a rethink if not an overhaul of the system. ⬆

"I would much rather spend my time and money and energy finding ways to make the Internet safer and better than bickering over patents."

--Dean Drako, Barracuda's CEO