[pp.int.general] purpose of manifesto

[Reinier Bakels]

>> I won't say "intellectual property" is more harmful, but the WAY
>> it does harm is more subtle and devious.
>
> Not to mention the suggestion that rights are goods, just like physical 
> property. We really need to replace it with a more suitable meme, 
> something catchier - perhaps even with the same abbreviation.

Also the word "intellectual" is a misnomer. It has the feel of an 
Achievement (with a capital letter). But actually, copyright only requires 
(a basic level of) originality (the user's manual of a vacuum cleaner is 
also "copyright protected"). For patents, I refer to a phrase from the 
American patent act "Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in 
which the invention was made." There is no "sweat of the brow" (a term used 
in the bible in the context of the story about the paradise, right in the 
beginning of Genesis in the old testament). For trademarks, it is even 
worse: is it an "intellectual" achievement to devise the ugly rosa/pink 
colour which is the trademark of Deutsche Telekom?

The actual substance is (only) "information". For a person with an IT 
background such as myself, the use of this word is obvious, but I noted that 
traditional lawyers get upset by the word "information". Indeed, a 
definition of the word is not easy (and not agreed, afaik). But what is 
"matter" really? Is the tangible nature decisive? Yes, there is a law of 
conservation of matter (if we forget nuclear reactions and E=mc square for a 
moment). But there is no law of conservation of information - the second law 
of thermodynamics say that entropy increases = information gets lost in a 
closed system.

Actually if a tangible object is destroyed, the matter still is subject to 
the law of conservation of matter. What is lost is its form, which basically 
is information.

Information is characterised economically by "zero marginal cost". How to 
phrase that in an appealing manner? The (economic) concept of a "public 
good" sounds good, but it maty be too a-specific.

Before you propose an acronym, check www.acronymfinder.com first.
IP = internet protocol. IP law = international private law.

reinier