In theory intellectual property is a great idea, it protects artists from being devalued. In practice, with bad actors, it is nothing but a way to hold a monopoly over an industry, if someone comes up with a new song you can just sue them for using a note that also appeared in one of your songs, and because you have the money of industry on your side you will be able to outperform your victim in the courts. Now you are the controller of what people see and hear, you are god.
ひげ
@Jazzy_Butts a big way to combat this would be to require the plaintiff to pay the legal fees of the defendant if they plaintiff loses the case. that would combat a lot of problems with the court system in general. perhaps it wouldn't be the entirety of the legal defense payment, but adjusted relative to the net worth of the plaintiff.
imagine what emulation would be like today if bleem didn't go bankrupt from sony's lawsuit, even though bleem won. the little guys just don't have money to throw at the wall like big corporations do. they can claim as much as they want that someone is violating their copyright or IP, even if it isn't the case, and the defendant will either have to pony up in court and lose a bunch of money to prove a point, or simply give in. most people are not in a position to fight that sort of thing even though, in a LOT of scenarios, they definitely could win the case.
it's scare tactics, mainly.
