3 ms·

Property rights are for protecting scarce resources. Intellectual property is not a scarce resource.

• mcv 13y ago
  That's why capitalist science is a stupid idea in the first place, but it's still how the current system works. Corporations like artificial scarcity, so stuff can be owned, capitalized and exploited for profit.
  • samolang 13y ago
    > Corporations like artificial scarcity, so stuff can be owned, capitalized and exploited for profit. That may be true of some corporations (most notably in companies that have already achieved success and thus have an incentive to maintain the status quo), but it's not a universal rule [1] and patents aren't the only method of maintaining artificial scarcity [2]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GEAGdwHXfLQ#t=735 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GE... [2] http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-patents-2012-11 http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-patents-2012-11