.  :  |  A R C H A I C  |  :  .     ______________
           .  :  |   N E T W O R K S  |   :  .

Ever have a problem playing an old record? An old tape? An old CD? What about an old copy-protected music file in a closed format that the company no longer supports? Lawrence Lessig comments on the dangers of intellectual property ad infinitum, as it seems we’re heading towards, in Foreign Policy Magazine. Who cares? Well, anybody with a sense of culture or history. (It’s quite sad that Sonny Bono was not, as is shown by the CTEA.)Including economists like Milton Friedman and Ronald Coase. See, it’s just bad for business. It’s hard to convince businesses to see long-run gain over short-term (quarterly) “profits,” though. Especially Hollywood. Long-term gain requires creativity and innovation, a change in the state of things. This is somewhat harder to quantify.