[kevin_b_er]

There is no intellectual "property", merely a temporary exclusive grant made by the public to encourage the arts and sciences. To call it "property" is, as I warned, the goal of the "IP" industry in equating a patent as no different from a house and land. Then it magically becomes some sort of right, but one is fundamental a restriction of your own fundamental human rights because a patent can be accidentally infringed.

A patent can be accidentally issued, but it can be hell to accidentally UN-issue it. Meanwhile the patent constraints your actions and speech through its power. And we want to treat it like a house? The house limits what you may do upon that land, a patent limits what you may do anywhere any everywhere. And you don't even need to know the patent "property" upon your actions even exists.

[pnw_hazor]

Intellectual property is real. Try stealing some IP from Apple and see what happens -- something real will happen.

IP is as real as any other legal construct, such as, contract rights. The term intellectual property is a term of art that just happens to model some of the analogues that exist between intellectual property, real property, and personal property.