Maybe it shows someone the absurdness [LWN.net]

Maybe it shows someone the absurdness

Posted Sep 8, 2011 7:47 UTC (Thu) by AndreE (subscriber, #60148)
In reply to: Maybe it shows someone the absurdness by Seegras
Parent article: HTC Sues Apple Using Patents Obtained From Google (Bloomberg)

Some libertarians see intellectual property as an extension of personal property, which I think is wrong. Others see it as a state-granted and enforced monopoly, that should be limited if the goal is to limit the reach of the state. This is a position I feel is consistent with libertarian beliefs

Ron Paul has in the past I believe expressed support for the IP-based industries, and despite the major reforms he recommends in other aspects of finance and economy, has never suggested widespread IP reform. I think he falls into the former category.

This is where the confusion lies

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Maybe it shows someone the absurdness

Posted Sep 9, 2011 12:49 UTC (Fri) by butlerm (subscriber, #13312) [Link]

>Ron Paul has in the past I believe expressed support for the IP-based industries

Copyright and patents are so dissimilar that it sows confusion to classify them together. How many people out there favor eliminating copyright completely? Few to none. Why? Perhaps because copyright doesn't apply to anything susceptible of independent invention.

No one needs to clone Mickey Mouse. It might be nice after a couple of generations, but Mickey Mouse is not a major drag on the economy. Patents are. Outside of perhaps pharmaceuticals (due to government testing requirements), patents are just an economic and technological progress destroying form of corporate welfare. Progress destroying because most patents, especially the most valuable patents, are on things that tens to hundreds of companies are about to "invent" in the ordinary course of business.

If patents were only granted for things that had a vanishingly small probability of being independently invented in the next twenty years, that would be one thing. As they are, they are the economic equivalent of throwing sand in the gears.