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by tstegart 2492 days ago
I'm suspicious of this argument. If you don't have any intellectual property laws, can't anyone just duplicate all of those methods you mentioned? If Marvel releases a movie, I can steal it and ask people to subscribe to my stolen movie service, donate to it, show it using advertisements, write a live show using the script, etc. About the only way I can't steal it is through commission, but then how is the person paying the commission getting their money back? This seems like it wouldn't work.
2 comments

Creators don't have exclusive control over their past works, but they do have control over their future works. That is how those monetization strategies work.

> If Marvel releases a movie, I can steal it and ask people to subscribe to my stolen movie service, donate to it, show it using advertisements, write a live show using the script, etc

Yes, you can do that. But you don't have access to that movie until it's released, so Marvel can sell release access to theaters and streaming services. They can crowd-fund new movies by selling exclusive early access to the final product. They can sell merchandise and other media that integrates with the movie. Perhaps they can sell super-high-quality physical media for collectors.

Obviously people are willing to pay money to see these movies. The questions is how to connect Marvel with that money, which I'm sure they can figure out.

> About the only way I can't steal it is through commission, but then how is the person paying the commission getting their money back?

Artists selling their services for commission is mostly seen for smaller works of art, like paintings / drawings or short animations.

I suppose you don't need IP to have contracts that prevent redistribution... I'm not sure that's what OP is going for though.
If only there was some system to sort of implicitly grant creators the ability to control who gets to redistribute their works. Like if they had some sort of rights on what their intellect has produced.

But what would we call it?