Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

This seems to be putting the cart before the horse.

IP rights, or even IP itself as a concept, isn’t fundamental to existence nor the default state of nature. They are contigent concepts, contigent on many factors.

e.g. It has to be actively, continuously, maintained as time advances. There could be disagreements on how often, such as per annum, per case, per WIPO meeting, etc…

But if no such activity occurs over a very long time, say a century, then any claims to any IP will likely, by default, be extinguished.

So nobody needs to do anything for it all to become irrelevant. That will automatically occur given enough time…



> IP rights, or even IP itself as a concept, isn’t fundamental to existence nor the default state of nature.

This is correct. Copyright wasn't a thing until after the invention of the printing press.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: