#1816 IP'd to Death: How Intellectual Property Law Went from a Protection to a Weapon

**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.* Full Show Notes Transcript **Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com** **BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)** **Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience!** **Join our Discord community!** * * * **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. My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! * * * **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 A2: Amanda Kleintop on Abolishing Property Rights in Slaves During and After the US Civil War - The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition - Air Date 1-24-22 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 B3: Brian Eno Explains Why AI Art Sucks - Life With Machines - Air Date 10-31-25 B4: YouTube's Fair Use Paradox - Vertex Effects - Air Date 7-18-25 B5: We Are Being IP-ed to Death / Vicky Osterweil Part 2 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 5-27-26 * * * **(02:27:53) SECTION C: THE DISNEY PLAYBOOK** C1: A Disney Monopoly Is A Problem (According To Disney's Recess) - Just Write - Air Date 11-30-19 C2: Vicky Osterweil on Disney, Intellectual Property and Storytelling Part 1 - The Final Straw Radio - Air Date 5-3-26 C3: Everyone's Wrong About John Oliver's Trademark War - LegalEagle - Air Date 8-8-26 C4: Vicky Osterweil on Disney, Intellectual Property and Storytelling Part 2 - The Final Straw Radio - Air Date 5-3-26 C5: We Are Being IP-ed to Death / Vicky Osterweil Part 3 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 5-27-26 * * * **(03:14:03) SECTION D: WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT** D1: Should We Abolish Copyright? Part 2 - Tom Nicholas - Air Date 10-2-19 D2: The Ethical Case Against Intellectual Property (by David Koepsell) - V for Voluntary Library - Air Date 5-17-10 * * *   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com