2026-09-28 19:26 UTC
Before "IP" came into wide usage, we didn't generally try to group this miscellany under one umbrella, but when we did, the term we used wasn't "IP," it was *monopolies*. These regulatory fiats were (correctly) considered to be government-granted, government-enforced monopolies.
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Replies (1)
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@pluralistic@mamot.fr 2026-09-28 19:26
The adoption of IP was a branding exercise, a very successful attempt to transform the public's perception of these rules as natural, freestanding property rights that the law merely ratified - not a set of regulatory gifts designed to protect the self-interest of commercial firms. I get it. Between the tactical confusion and the invocation of "property," "IP" feels like terrain worth fighting over. 16/