timelets

Now, I understand why libertarians, especially, of the Austrian flavor, cringe when they hear "intellectual property."

“...technology is viewed as being essentially a public good, freely available to anyone who wants some. The government provides it, through universities. It is to be thought of as being like ham radio, available to anyone who wants to tune in, in one famous analogy; like “manna from heaven,” in another. In old growth theory no further distinctions can be made. To speak of “intellectual property” in its terms would be as striking a contradiction as if one were to seek to describe a “private public good.” Untangling this paradox is what Romer’s work is all about.”

--- David Warsh. “Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations.”