2 ms·
Intellectual property in general is rent seeking. The fixed costs of producing IP are on the hands of creators, who often use third parties (or parent companies
by zanny 9y ago
Intellectual property in general is rent seeking. The fixed costs of producing IP are on the hands of creators, who often use third parties (or parent companies) that act as middle men who take fixed resources and extract infinite revenue from them through rent seeking on either licenses or subscriptions.
This is how all the stores selling IP make so much money, how all the streaming services are so profitable, etc all while not producing any original content themselves. And it applies to creators who direct sell themselves, because they aren't charging marginal costs on IP licenses - they are rent seeking their existing properties. Often to fund the creation of new ones, but I don't think many people argue the morality of rent seeking based on how the owner spends the rent. Any landlord can invest the rents they collect into new building construction, but that will still just lead to generating more rents.