(Intellectual property) rights depend on your ability to enforce them. Large companies have many resources to throw at enforcement while small companies have fe

(Intellectual property) rights depend on your ability to enforce them. Large companies have many resources to throw at enforcement while small companies have few and individuals even fewer. In the past, patents may have worked for the little guy but no longer. I don't know why exactly. On the Harry Potter thing, "the biggest marketing budget would win and sell the most" is indeed what happens, but the original creator still has huge power. For example if George Lucas (who sold the Star Wars IP to Disney) decided to publish his "fan fiction" screenplay for Star Wars Episode VII, Disney would have a massive continuity problem because he's the original creator—no matter how much The Mouse spends on marketing. That is what Disney paid him $4B for, to not do that. Further, isn't "people will write new stories for characters they love" a good thing? We could certainly use fresh ideas rather than this rut of reboots and sequels. In that sense, letting The Market winnow the winners from the chaff would improve consumer offerings. It's happened before: remember that Twilight fan fiction that became a literary sensation and major movie series?