> It's also curious that copyrights use the language of rights, which are typically thought to be inalienable, yet are transferrable as economic assets in ways

> It's also curious that copyrights use the language of rights, which are typically thought to be inalienable, yet are transferrable as economic assets in ways that most other rights are not. As far as I understand it, the word “right” used to simply mean permission granted from some higher authority— “The duke has granted me the right to hunt in his forest”. The idea of inalienable rights came about much later (the Enlightenment?), as permissions granted from some authority higher than all earthly governments.