I would go even further. IP should be done away with legally wherever possible. When in doubt eliminate it. Where it is absolutely necessary, when things just

I would go even further. IP should be done away with legally wherever possible. When in doubt eliminate it. Where it is absolutely necessary, when things just don't get done & no positive equilibrium forms, introduce it. Not as a 'right' any more then a government contract is a right. Just a rule of the game that allows medicine to be developed or technology to improve. I can't possibly see how disappearing music IP would hurt society in aggregate. I dare say music would still be made. The dynamic of the industry would be completely different. Maybe there would be a 10% loss of revenue industry wide. maybe 25% or 50% or even 90%. That still probably leaves a bigger industry then sculpting or comic theatre. Music is very popular. It will not disappear tomorrow. Even in medicine I think it is possible there would be some gains. After all, it's a huge market & will remain so. I'm not sure that public funding for research wouldn't be just as good as private patent-chasing funding it would need to replace. There is a lot of inefficiency in the system now anyway. New antibiotics (probably the most important single class of medicine) are not profitable to develop. A patient take 1 course & then goes home. If you price them high, then doctors will prescribe a different antibiotic. But a new antibiotic will save lives as it will probably work in some end cases where existing ones don't. It's also a bit of insurance against future resistant strains. But the economy for developing antidepressants, cosmetics or some other long term treatment drugs with potentially fewer cheap substitutes is much stronger. This is really pushing it. I don't know to analyse all the economic outcomes. But I know I see no strong moral reason for IP laws other then those that generate the most well being for society. *In reality transitioning would be hugely difficult. I'm not saying throw it out & start from scratch. I'm saying reconsider.