I’m actually arguing from a slightly different consequentialist position; I don’t think intellectual property law in general is socially efficient. You have to

I’m actually arguing from a slightly different consequentialist position; I don’t think intellectual property law in general is socially efficient. You have to consider whether the (putative) benefit of IP-based R&D funding exceeds the loss associated with the introduction of artificial scarcity, social cost of IP enforcement, etc. For something like rocket engines or metallurgy, I would say “maybe”. For the latest Star Wars spinoff, I would say “strong no”. Even for rocket engines or whatever, it’s not clear if the patent system is still producing acceptable returns.