The Liberty Roundtable #1: Education and the State
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_bLcxOU4ww
Microsoft Patents Ones, Zeroes | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29130
With the force of patent law, some producers supposedly have more rights than others?
Microsoft patents 'Page Up' and 'Page Down' by David Meyer
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39481766,00.htm
Company that won $585M from Microsoft sues Apple, Google by Jacqui Cheng
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/company-that-won-585m-from-microsoft-sues-apple-google.ars
The TWiT Netcast Network with Leo Laporte TWiT 216: It's Pimpin' Time - http://twit.tv/216
Patent litigation spells a proliferation of conflicts in the marketplace
Time spent litigating patent claims is time spent away from catering to present and future customers
Money spent on litigating patent claims is money not spent on innovating and marketing
Patents are essentially monopolistic privileges granted by government that try to control other people's use of their own property
Barnes & Noble Sued Over Nook Design by Barb Dybwad
http://mashable.com/2009/11/02/spring-design-lawsuit/
Non-disclosure agreements are a problematic aspect of contract law
Promises to do or not do something that aren't based on actual property, but rather on IP, aren't valid
Promises that don't involve the transfer of property don't constitute contracts either
"...validly enforceable contracts only exist where title to property has already been transferred, and therefore where the failure to abide by the contract means that the other party’s property is retained by the delinquent party, without the consent of the former (implicit theft). Hence, this proper libertarian theory of enforceable contracts has been termed the 'title-transfer' theory of contracts."
...from The Ethics of Liberty Chapt 19. PROPERTY RIGHTS AND THE THEORY OF CONTRACTS by Murray Rothbard
http://mises.org/rothbard/Ethics/nineteen.asp
The title transfer theory of contracts is grounded in actual property
The work that Rothbard credits for insights about contract validity is:
Toward A Reformulation of the Law of Contracts by Williamson M. Evers
http://mises.org/journals/jls/1_1/1_1_2.pdf
further reading - A Libertarian Theory of Contract: Title Transfer, Binding Promises, and Inalienability by N. Stephan Kinsella (though there are some logical problems with some of his arguments against Rothbard)
http://mises.org/journals/jls/17_2/17_2_2.pdf
In a free market, people are free to honor original content creators by buying their stuff (or donating)
Producers of content must discover free market ways to receive compensation for their efforts
Identity theft is a form of fraud, the use of someone's property without consent, under false pretenses
Knockoffs are a form of flattery, and like in fashion, consumers choose which ones to buy (and they can afford)
Patent Claim Could Block Import of Toyota's Hybrid Cars
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/10/08/212200/Patent-Claim-Could-Block-Import-of-Toyotas-Hybrid-Cars
How Patents Are Harming Small Companies Too
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090601/0007575076.shtml
Patent holders, be they individuals or corporations, constantly hold back innovation in the marketplace
Fallacy Run Amok by Jeffrey A. Tucker
http://www.lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker130.html
Bringing even a "knockoff" product to market successfully takes time, effort, and money
Patents foster perverse incentives not to innovate and to discourage others from innovating
Property rights resolve conflict, whereas "IP rights" create conflict
Rights equal freedom to act in a social context, without conflict with others
Complete Liberty IP Chapter: http://completeliberty.com/chapter6.php
audio version: http://completeliberty.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=208107
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For those interested in nutrition and the psychology of weight loss, health, and fitness, visit my (and Kevin's) new site:
http://healthymindfitbody.com
bumper music "Freedom '90" by George Michael (and excerpt from Intellectual Property: How to Review a Patent Application http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dMf0fV4gqM )
http://www.georgemichael.com/
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