Contents

• Contents
• Introduction
• Recurrent patterns in the emergence of IP rights (an attempt to apply 'proofs by induction' to history)
  • ''Please grant me some privileges''
  • The Lets-clean-up-that-mess pattern
  • The The-others-have-it pattern
  • Economists on patents
• (Just) yet another IP crisis ?
  • Marginal information distribution costs approaching zero
  • Ubiquity of artificial scarcity
  • The minimal alternative
  • A moderate alternative
• Political neglect
  • Challenging the IP system in general does not help the specific agendas of involved interest groups
  • Political parties ?
  • Academic research
• Bibliography