On 4/11/07, Jim Cornette <fc-cornette@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Michael Wiktowy wrote: > US Intellectual Monopoly laws. I agree with this phrase. It is not property but a way to charge for vapor.
I have to admit that I blatently stole that phrase from an RMS interview I read recently. I am pretty sure that he will not come after me with a team of lawyers demanding compensation though ;] I like it since it is more accurate. To call a non-rivalrous good a property is (intentionally) misleading and patents/copyrights are just temporary monopolies primarily designed to stimulate creativity. Sadly as witnessed by theme of this thread, people have completely lost track of this design goal and it is doing the complete opposite. They figure that the point is just to maximize profits.. The balance is completely out of whack ... more so in some parts of the world than others. Profit is good but not at the expense of human progress and health. I suspect that I am preaching to the choir here though ... /Mike
