> the concept of IP ownership -- let alone specifics of how its structured -- are a cultural and human construct. [...] I'm not at all convinced we'll make much

> the concept of IP ownership -- let alone specifics of how its structured -- are a cultural and human construct. [...] I'm not at all convinced we'll make much progress as society if we impose our values on everyone, and expect everyone to behave the same way When thinking beyond the means (economical based incentive) and skipping straight to the end (advancement of human technology and culture) - One particularly huge country (China) has already been doing an accidental experiment for a long time: taking western IP and patents with a pinch of salt, and just using them pretty freely (as far as I understand it), at least at a national level. I find the existence of that duality in the world really interesting, and it's not exactly one sided because the west has been exploiting China and Asia in general in their own way. On one side you have economically based idea and technology creation incentives with ever increasing restrictions; on the other you have all the benefits unleashed without restriction, yet without significantly affecting the incentive for the source (I'm sure some "not rich enough" people will complain it does but frankly the economical mechanism have already been pushed too far).