courts ARE RUN by politicians. the almighty dollar will always decide. and IT will always decide based on self interest. not necessarily because they are EVIL, but because you ALWAYS see things from your own perspective. the BEST manipulators will always be in control.

I work in the electronics industry and it is funny how many pending law suits for intellectual property copyright infringement, stay pending past the life of the actual companies that hold the rights for the disputed property. it all comes down to the economics of enforcement. the winner is always the one who has the MOST RESOURCES to fight the battle with.

I agree we can't abolish ALL the laws JUST YET, but when they are this far from reality we have to TOTALLY rethink their basis, and the practicle application thereof.

At the start of this thread the proposition was about someone taking furniture that someone else made out of their front yard by someone in a truck... if that persons truck made an exact replica of the furniture without any harm being done to the maker. (a theoretical LOST POTENTIAL SALE IS NOT HARM !) would the furniture maker have any damages? are his ideas for furniture really so revolutionary that they should be patentable?

until the economy is based on actual VALUE there will always be a discrepency. the problem is that MOST artist don't want to WORK for a living.. (NO OFFENSE) THEY WANT THE DREAM! the VALUE of art has been artifically inflated by the ART INDUSTRY to allow for profits for the machine itself. is a two and a half hour experience at the movies actaully worth the (whatever the current box office ticket prices are now?) I have to say NO (and the same for most MAJOR commercial musical acts) I will pay to be entertained for a few hours, but not at the rate that is currenlty being charged. I am just as entertained by street performers who are gracious and happy with a small token, BECAUSE they don't have to kick their money up the chain to pay the fat cats.