#1816 IP'd to Death: How Intellectual Property Law Went from a Protection to a Weapon
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy | Aug 20 2026 | 03:31:16
Air Date: 8/19/2026
Today we trace the corporate capture of ideas themselves. What began as a brief legal incentive granting fourteen years of exclusive rights to a creation has become a system that kept a pandemic vaccine from reaching poorer countries and where entertainment conglomerates and technology giants fence off and sell our own culture back to us.
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TOP TAKES
KP 1: Why We Should Get Rid Of Intellectual Property - Second Thought - Air Date 11-18-22
KP 2: How Patent Abuse Blocks Patient Access to Generic Drugs - PIRGvideos - Air Date 4-18-23
KP 3: YouTube's Copyright System Isn't Broken. The World's Is. Part 1 - Tom Scott - Air Date 5-23-20
KP 4: How Disney Will Control Mickey Forever - LegalEagle - Air Date 1-10-26
KP 5: We Are Being IP-ed to Death / Vicky Osterweil Part 1 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 5-27-26
KP 6: Is AI Burning The Library Of Alexandria? - Taylor Lorenz - Air Date 8-5-26
KP 7: Should We Abolish Copyright? Part 1 - Tom Nicholas - Air Date 10-2-19
(00:56:46) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Disney Lobbied for Walls in 1998. OpenAI Asked for Holes in 2025.
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DEEPER DIVES
(01:07:51) SECTION A: HOW WE GOT HERE
A1: The 5 Phases of Corporate IP Ownership - David Stewart - Air Date 7-8-18
A3: Maggie Blackhawk and K-Sue Park - Digging a Hole: The Legal Theory Podcast - Air Date 3-23-21
A4: Claire Priest - Digging a Hole: The Legal Theory Podcast - Air Date 2-16-21
A5: YouTube's Copyright System Isn't Broken. The World's Is. Part 2 - Tom Scott - Air Date 5-23-20
(01:50:20) SECTION B: WHO PROFITS, WHO PAYS
B1: A Deepfake Stole My Face and Voice | Rich Roll (Ep. 20) - Life with Machines - Air Date 5-13-25
B2: Can Artists Protect Their Work From AI? – BBC News - Air Date 6-18-23