Monopoly Man - The White House must stop Michael Powell

http://www.techcentralstation.com/1051/techwrapper.jsp?PID=1051-250&CID=1051-010603F ^ | January 6, 2002

[Dominic Harr]

The so-called 'Intellectual Property' laws are a govt-mandated monopoly. Just like the phone infrastructure.

The constitution originally mandated that creators have the rights to profit off an idea for 7 years. Not that ideas are 'property'.

So, logically, if you feel the phone lines are public property because our tax dollars enforce them, then so should be govt-protected IP.

Oh, wait -- you are just a shill for MS, and not the phone company. That's right.

This is a sweet irony, you on the other side of a shill and not liking it!

[Bush2000]

The so-called 'Intellectual Property' laws are a govt-mandated monopoly. Just like the phone infrastructure.

True, but unlike other government-sponsored monopolies (such as the RBOCs), intellectual property must be earned and created through hard work and sweat. The monopoly on the telephone system was given away in smoke-filled back rooms and with political maneuvering. There is no creative requirement in order to get the government to award you exclusive ownership of a particular resource (mining, forests, phones, etc). It is that distinction that makes the difference between the two.

Secondly, government-sponsored monopolies such as RBOCs are not created by the Constitution. They're created by government run amok. Intellectual property ownership, on the other hand, is specifically named in the Constitution as a fundamental right of inventors.

[Dave S]

Some people can't obtain PCS or cellular -- or the coverage is so bad that it's almost no point in using. What other choices do they have?

Telephony over high speed cable modem. Im sure the local cable company would be happy to help ween them from ma bell.

[Dominic Harr]

Secondly, government-sponsored monopolies such as RBOCs are not created by the Constitution.

'Intellectual Property' laws' are the same -- nowhere in the constitution does it say ideas are 'property', only that the creators have a right to profit off the idea for a limited period of time (7 years, at the time).

The laws that were created by an out-of-control govt, bought and paid for by companies like Disney and MS, created MS's current monopoly.

Yet you like the MS govt-backed monopoly, and not the phone company's.

Because you don't get paid by the phone company.

[Bush2000]

Telephony over high speed cable modem. Im sure the local cable company would be happy to help ween them from ma bell.

C'mon, you and I both know that the service level just isn't there yet. It's more like using a walkie-talkie.

[Bush2000]

'Intellectual Property' laws' are the same -- nowhere in the constitution does it say ideas are 'property', only that the creators have a right to profit off the idea for a limited period of time (7 years, at the time).

You and others seem to get hung up on the distinction between 'physical property' and intellectual property'. Personally, I think that's a strawman. Whether you call it 'intellectual property' or 'intellectual foobar' is irrelevant to me. All that counts is that the Constitution specifically assigns rights of ownership to those ideas to inventors and protects them for a given period of time.

The laws that were created by an out-of-control govt, bought and paid for by companies like Disney and MS, created MS's current monopoly.

True, but they are the law.

Yet you like the MS govt-backed monopoly, and not the phone company's. Because you don't get paid by the phone company.

MS's so-called "monopoly" isn't backed by the government, Harr. If someone needs a computer -- even an Intel desktop computer -- they can go to other sources besides those that offer MS products. If I wanted telephone service in the 1960s, I had no choice besides the government-backed AT&T. Big difference. But, I don't want to get into an argument about whether it's a monopoly, though, because it's a horrible waste of time and I have better things to do than argue with you when you try to argue what "is is".

I do hold stock in phone companies, Harr. The fact that I receive money/dividends from that stock doesn't mean I support them, either. The reason I support MS is because consumers do have a choice. You don't need to read Judge Jackson's Findings of Fact to realize that you can get a desktop PC without a Windows operating system. I can do it in about 5 minutes over the Web. Thus, the fact that consumers aren't practically forced to buy MS means that there really isn't force involved at all. Or market power.

[Dominic Harr]

You and others seem to get hung up on the distinction between 'physical property' and intellectual property'.

It's a small thing conservatives have for not changing the constitution to suit your needs.

The constitution doesn't say anything anywhere about 'intellectual property', 'ownership of ideas' or any of that. This is all a product of an out of control govt bought and paid for by corps like Disney.

The constitution merely says that content creators have a sole right to profit from their works for a limited period of time -- 7 years, a the time.

No where does it say that content producers can "own" ideas.

That is purely the product of a corrupt system.

Eventually the 'IP' laws will be replaced with 'minimum wage' laws, getting back to the constitutional roots. Any attempt at labeling 'ideas' as 'property' is as doomed as labeling 'human slaves' as 'property' was.

Ideas aren't property. *Can't* be property.

P.S. -- I won't likely be able to respond for some time, got a rollout tomorrow. Sorry.

[Dave S]

C'mon, you and I both know that the service level just isn't there yet. It's more like using a walkie-talkie.

But you were the one that said there were NO OPTIONS. Didnt say the options were as good as Ma Bell but you get what you pay for.

[Bush2000]

But you were the one that said there were NO OPTIONS. Didnt say the options were as good as Ma Bell but you get what you pay for.

Talk about a laughable option. Maybe 20% of the country has broadband. What about the rest of them? Screwed? Not realistic.

[Bush2000]

Ideas aren't property. *Can't* be property.

The implementation of an idea is certainly property. And can be patented.

[Bogey78O]

'True, but unlike other government-sponsored monopolies (such as the RBOCs), intellectual property must be earned and created through hard work and sweat. '

The gov't didn't buy Bell it's copper. They did tax it though.

[Bogey78O]

And use another gov't backed monopoly with ZERO competition?

Sure...why not.

[Bogey78O]

There's no profit in broadband short term. That's why CLECs aren't building the infrastructure. They're letting Bell build it and take the risk then stepping in to make profits even less likely.

If AT&T was still around as it once was DSL would be everywhere thanks to a guaranteed profit as well as long distance and business phoens subsidizing it for local service.

[Bush2000]

The gov't didn't buy Bell it's copper. They did tax it though.

It's not as if we had a choice of an alternate supplier now, did we?

[Bogey78O]

Actually you don't need a phone. AT&T did lose turf to other companies in the past. River Region Phone Co was one such local case.

[Bogey78O]

But so you'll know the alternatie was to have either the gov't lay the cable and nationalize it or have a million different companies lay their own cable and we'd look like Beirut with a billion pole mounts.