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> If the owners/companies no longer exist, then I would think the IP should be free by default. Perhaps that's another law to work on... I think I have even mo

> If the owners/companies no longer exist, then I would think the IP should be free by default. Perhaps that's another law to work on... I think I have even more elegant solution. All IP should be subject to a tax (or maintenance fee or whatever you want to call it). As soon as the IP owner fails to pay the tax, IP falls to public domain irrevocably. The actual structure of the tax can be subject to debate. I would propose a highly progressive tax over time, for example for patents something like $100 for the first year, then doubling every year. Seriously, why should IP not be taxed? We tax almost everything else that is possible to tax. Especially given it is far from certain that IP is net benefit for society. (I'm willing to give the benefit of doubt though, that's why I am not proposing to abolish IP completely)

diegoholiveira 3y ago
The money made with the IP is taxable. I can support your proposal only if the IP taxes are deductible from incoming tax.
- redeeman 3y ago
  and the money i use to pay for goods was already charged income tax, and then it gets charged sales tax, which is bigger than otherwise since it is a percentage, and the workers who produced the product is income taxed, and have to pay salestax for their food...... its hardly as if the regimes around the world have any problems with taxing things to hell
DropInIn 3y ago
Under your model any author would immediately lose protections unless they could afford the fees.... If you can't see the glaring problems there then there's no hope for you.... But hopefully you immediately recognize that it hurts the least advantaged the greatest while also providing a mechanism for anticompetitive behavior under the guise of following your precept (make the fee high enough and only established authors/publishers can hold any copyright). I really get the feeling you didn't think it through at all....
- hilbert42 3y ago
  "If you can't see the glaring problems there then there's no hope for you...." Correct, but easily solved if the tax were to be based on license sales numbers and income. Small/poor license owners would pay almost nothing whereas the big players would pay plenty.
  - DropInIn 3y ago
    How does that resolve the issue of IP squatting that is in question? If there's no income the fee is negligible, permitting the rights holder to squat on them for next to nothing and prevent the use of the otherwise abandoned IP by the public....
    - hilbert42 3y ago
      That's a separate and in some circumstances a serious problem. For instance, an art gallery takes a photo of an artwork that's out of copyright for reference/insurance and (a) doesn't allow photos in the gallery and (b) the photo which is copyright isn't on sale (as it wasn't intended for that purpose). So the out of copyright artwork is locked up from reproduction. Variations on this theme are a problem with galleries and museums worldwide.
- dingaling 3y ago
  If the IP is commercially viable then it would generate revenue to cover the fees. If it wasn't viable then it would either never be created or would automatically enter the public domain. Currently, if IP is not commercially viable then the author has the choice of not creating it, or creating it and releasing it under CC or just public domain. So essentially the same.
  - DropInIn 3y ago
    A poor writer who works full time min wage to barely scrape by and writes a masterpiece will not have the funds to cover the fees while waiting to get accepted by a publisher To assert the model isn't blatantly flawed is absurd

diegoholiveira 3y ago

The money made with the IP is taxable. I can support your proposal only if the IP taxes are deductible from incoming tax.

redeeman 3y ago
and the money i use to pay for goods was already charged income tax, and then it gets charged sales tax, which is bigger than otherwise since it is a percentage, and the workers who produced the product is income taxed, and have to pay salestax for their food...... its hardly as if the regimes around the world have any problems with taxing things to hell

DropInIn 3y ago

Under your model any author would immediately lose protections unless they could afford the fees.... If you can't see the glaring problems there then there's no hope for you.... But hopefully you immediately recognize that it hurts the least advantaged the greatest while also providing a mechanism for anticompetitive behavior under the guise of following your precept (make the fee high enough and only established authors/publishers can hold any copyright). I really get the feeling you didn't think it through at all....

hilbert42 3y ago
"If you can't see the glaring problems there then there's no hope for you...." Correct, but easily solved if the tax were to be based on license sales numbers and income. Small/poor license owners would pay almost nothing whereas the big players would pay plenty.
- DropInIn 3y ago
  How does that resolve the issue of IP squatting that is in question? If there's no income the fee is negligible, permitting the rights holder to squat on them for next to nothing and prevent the use of the otherwise abandoned IP by the public....
  - hilbert42 3y ago
    That's a separate and in some circumstances a serious problem. For instance, an art gallery takes a photo of an artwork that's out of copyright for reference/insurance and (a) doesn't allow photos in the gallery and (b) the photo which is copyright isn't on sale (as it wasn't intended for that purpose). So the out of copyright artwork is locked up from reproduction. Variations on this theme are a problem with galleries and museums worldwide.
dingaling 3y ago
If the IP is commercially viable then it would generate revenue to cover the fees. If it wasn't viable then it would either never be created or would automatically enter the public domain. Currently, if IP is not commercially viable then the author has the choice of not creating it, or creating it and releasing it under CC or just public domain. So essentially the same.
- DropInIn 3y ago
  A poor writer who works full time min wage to barely scrape by and writes a masterpiece will not have the funds to cover the fees while waiting to get accepted by a publisher To assert the model isn't blatantly flawed is absurd