> > Intellectual property is theft.
> >
> > Chuck
>
>Tell that to Little Richard, who never got a nickel from Pat Boone, who
>stole his songs outright before copyright was extended to music.
>
>If it's created by the labor of its owner, property is not theft.
As an artist I disagree. I can sell a painting but the "image" contained on the canvas is freely available for anyone to use. I didn't pull that image out of my mind with no help from the tens of thousands of painters before me and the techniques they pioneered. The entire structure of our society contributes to the images I create. Each one is a vision of something original (I hope) that is created be rearranging everything I see and hear in an interesting and pleasing way. There was a time when musicians did not own the music they created. It was acknowledged that the original composition owed it existence to all musicians who came before them. Copyright needs to go away as do patents. They inhibit the diffusion of knowledge and artistry. This does not mean however I condone plagiarism. When someone authors something they should be given "intellectual" credit for that composition. For someone else to claim authorship is clearly wrong but in a moral way not a legal way. I have made copies of paintings for many people but I have always clearly labeled the back of the canvas with the information concerning the original. The same should hold for music. When a musician plays a piece arranged by someone else they should make it clear that this particular arrangement was the vision of whomever composed it, nothing more.
John Thornton