“For example, earlier this year at the World Health Organization, our broad coalition of associations and companies were able to turn back an anti-IP effort and send the message that such assaults against innovation norms will no longer go unchallenged.
Activist NGOs had been urging the World Health Organization to oppose IP protections for pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and biotechnology.”

This Donahue guy (like so many others) equates IP “protection” and “innovation” — when in fact, as we all know, IP “protection” is the primary force AGAINST innovation, affordable pharmaceuticals, etc.

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9800/Chamber+of+Commerce%3A+%27Interference+With+Copyright+Laws+%3D+Marxism%27

That’s it: if these people represent why IP “protection” exists, then it must be destroyed, in all forms.
They couldn’t be satisfied with a mere 14 or twenty year monopoly, nooooo…..they had to press for ever-greater “protection”.

Well, this particular “protection racket” is — by this asshole’s own admission — slipping fast. They need to be “ever-vigilant” in reinforcing their own misinformation-campaign, and getting people to believe these issues are just about “stealing” music or movies.

The fact that the guy admits that their opponents have been “successful” indicates that this is FAR from an uphill battle.

1. The only reason most of the stuff they’re supposedly concerned about would be “in violation” of copyright is — and yeah, I’m gonna say it again because somebody needs to hammer the hell out of this point until everybody gets it — the copyright terms have been so vastly inflated. Life plus seventy?
The whole purpose (or more accurately, justification) for copyrights and patents is “to promote science and the useful arts”. They’re SUPPOSED to expire. What’s truly fascinating to me is how many apologists for capitalism (the so-called “free market”) are also defenders of IP law. Coercive monopolies backed by the State, explicitly premised on providing a “financial incentive” to innovate?

It’s tacitly assumed by IP apologists that without such monopolies (or even, with drastically shorter terms), the wondrous “market” they prattle about so much wouldn’t provide incentives to bring new/better products. So there’s the paradox:

Those who defend the “free market” and supposedly detest Government micromanagement of the economy, defend one of the most blatant FORMS of such State intervention: IP law and the courts get to stipulate who is “permitted” to compete — simply to ensure that huge multinational corporate “persons” don’t face unauthorized competition.

We heard this very often from a certain other contributor here — post after post bloviating about how the historical roots and purported justification for IP law were “beside the point”, and that what REALLY mattered was the relative strength of the lobbyists. Now we know.

From this other poster, we also learned the valuable lesson that anybody who opposes (or even questions) the current incarnation of IP law is motivated by “a hatred ot capitalism” and “an anarchist’s public glee”.

I’m going to continue hammering these points until people get the fact that the system under which we live is NOT any sort of “free market”: rather, it’s more akin to “corporate feudalism”, and rapidly — at least in the U.S. — achieving all the major earmarks of fascism.

At least we can all be glad judge Patel stated it openly.

It’s also been gratifying to learn that “the market” provides no incentives to innovate, and thus a vast, complicated system of “Intellectual property” monopolies with damn near infinite terms is required. Now we can all stop debating the mythical “Free market” and get down to discussing what FLAVOR of micromanaged “statism” is best.

(And, yes, just like Lessig, I myself am a former — increasingly more disillusioned — Libertarian).

Well sure, check if your product is legal, and if it’s questionable, then yes, with the courts. “WTF” yourself.

So if I invent something I shouldn’t market it as a product until I check with the courts to see if it’s legal. WTF!

Sorry, this Judge is an asshat.

Should I get the court’s permission before I brush my teeth?

Why do I hate the legal system, let me count the ways…

All Lawyers shall enter the B ark now please.

Lawyers are the dangerous part of the useless third. Let’s keep the telephone sanitizers instead.

So, it’s official.
no innovation without prior approval of the competition and the wealthy.

Got it.