It's not the rightsholders' property either. It's the public's property. We just give the rightholders a temporary monopoly on distributing such work. First of

It's not the rightsholders' property either. It's the public's property. We just give the rightholders a temporary monopoly on distributing such work. First of all, despite the legal handwaving around the topic, copyrights and related works are not property in and of themselves. They can manifest in physical property, but they are not property themselves. I reject the use of the term "intellectual property", as it is a complete misnomer. Secondly, copyrights are not absolute. There are acts that the rightsholder would not want you to do, but that are still legal.