I’m not so sure that Microsoft is maintaining their competative advantage solely through intellectual property. They seem to have nastier tricks than that in the bag.

Tom Adelstein, however, draws a good parallel between prohibition in 20’s era USA and the current regime of IP rights. According to the editorial, both served to stymie free trade and harmed society as a whole in the states, with IP being even worse with regards to foreign nations.

A thought provoking read.