MarcJStuff Stuff from the web….

Against Intelectual Monopoly

I have been reading an interesting book , called Against Intellectual Monopoly (available free in pdf form) that argues against patents and copyright. It is very interesting and makes some strong points about the anti-competitive nature of patents and copyright, and l how they stagnate economic and technological progress. The most recent patent and copyright issues discussed are the laws extending the length of which monopolistic advantages have been extended. It raises good points and we need to have a serious, thoughtful discussion about how long and idea can be "owned". The business of idea hording is not good for the economy. The threat of lawsuit is not good for small business or technological innovation. As for the book, it has lots of good examples, historical data, and citations of economic papers and studies. It can be a little repetitive and pretty dense, but otherwise, a very good and educational read.

On a side note, Mark Cuban has a great blog and has interesting things to say about business, technology, and patents. Also, Shark Tank is a pretty good show. It is interesting to see investors size up a small businesses; how they think, what they ask, and the creative ways they put deals together (mostly to the disadvantage of the person pitching the idea). (Does it matter if they take advantage of the small business if they make the person lots off money too? I'm not sure, but sometimes it feels a little slimy.... yeah, that's business....)

...now if I could only find my kindle... I lost it somewhere in the house... it has been missing for two days... argh (first world problem...)!