The White House Asks: What’s Blocking Innovation in America? – My Answer: IP Laws

“The White House is asking us to give them ideas on what is
blocking innovation in America. I thought I’d give them an honest
answer. Here it is:

“Current intellectual property laws are blocking innovation.

“President Obama just set a goal of wireless access for everyone
in the US, saying it will spark innovation. But that’s only true if
people are allowed to actually do innovative things once they are
online.

“You have to choose. You can prop up old business models with
overbearing intellectual property laws that hit innovators on the
head whenever they stick their heads up from the ground; OR you can
have innovation. You can’t have both. And right now, the balance is
away from innovation.

“Let’s take some specific examples to show why that is so. When
Napster first showed up, it was innovative. Heaven knows it changed
the world. And instead of letting this creativity flourish, make
money, and create jobs, the law was used to kill it. And kill it it
did. The law is still trying to kill or at least marginalize
peer-to-peer technology, and so it has never been used to the
full.”

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