[timwiseman]

As always you make enlightening points.

Yet, even under the law, there are some significant difference in the purpose and implementation between traditional property and intellectual property. IP rights are for instance limited in time. In fact, historically the original purpose of patents was to encourage inventors to disclose their information so that eventually it could be used by society at law. Patents are inherently, and meant to be, self limiting.

Also, traditional property is normal inherently exclusive. If I am using my hammer, you are not. We may manage to come to a time-sharing arrangement or something similar, but only one of us is using it at a time. On the other hand, my building a product based on a patent you hold is prevented only by the law, rather than by the mere fact of you holding it. To quote Jefferson "He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. "

In a legal sense, IP is most certainly property, but it has significant differences from more traditional property and is not property in the same sense that a hammer is.