"""the purpose of intellectual property law is to promote the creation of works""" Perhaps the whole problem would go (almost) away if IP terms were made a rea

"""the purpose of intellectual property law is to promote the creation of works""" Perhaps the whole problem would go (almost) away if IP terms were made a reasonable length again. No, I don't think so, either, but it should still happen. Copyright started at 14 years in the US. As distribution got better, it should have gotten shorter not longer. Maybe we really are reaching a point that IP should not be protected by law anymore. Coca Cola has kept their formula secret for over a hundred years. Many companies do not patent certain pieces of information, preferring to keep them trade secrets. The fashion industry never had IP protection (beyond trademarks that apply to everybody). This would mean 37 Signals can get angry about somebody using their design (like they (any clothing designer) did) but they would have no legal recourse to do anything. I don't know if 37 Signals has any legal plans, but it would surprise me (a lot...who wants that kind of distracting mess? Oh, wait, Apple seems to). Personally, as much as I love my iPhone, I couldn't care less if Cupertino no longer had a foundation (outside of trademark, which still has value, IMO) to sue over the iPad's and iPhone's design.