Capitalism and monopolism

[Major Variola (ret)]

At 09:51 PM 5/5/03 -0700, Steve Schear wrote:
>
>I gave a presentation at a conference a few years back in which I
raised
>the idea that since Intellectual Property (e.g., trademarks) aren't
>(property), its really a lease, that our society should consider
setting
>limits on the market penetration (say 50%, which is already in excess
of
>the what many economists call the "friction free" point wherein
companies
>can continue to gain market share merely by dint of their already
>considerable presence) of single companies in markets whose size (the
>therefore probably importance) exceeds some minimum threshold of the
>GDP.  However, instead of enforcing these limits via the Department of
>Justice, they would become a civil matter and one's competitors can use
the
>courts to strip a company of its sole lease on a trademark or patent
>applied to this market.

A few questions.  First, could this be done under the US constitution,
or is it fiddling too much with the intent of the prescription that the
USG support these?
Second, who would judge market penetration?  Could PC vendors sue Apple
for overpenetration in the graphics market?

Also, I don't think you want to do this with trademarks ---they're
merely for
IDing a manufacturer for reputation purposes.  They precede and
transcend
the US; cf bin Laden heroin.

With patents, I suspect the best you could do would be to fiddle with
the
expiration policies ---something for which there is ample precedent.

Of course, other nations are free fnord to alter their laws.  And this
of course
assumes that one of Kim's nukular missiles takes out Hollywood before
Hollywood takes over the USG.

-----

"Naturally the common people don't want war...But, after all, it is the
leaders of a country who determine policy, and it is always a simple
matter
to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist
dictatorship, or parliament or a communist dictatorship. All you have to
do
is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for
lack of
patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in
every
country."

--Hermann Goering, (1893-1946) Nazi Reichsmarschall, at the Nuremberg
Trials, 4/18/46. From _Nuremberg Diary_ by Gustave Gilbert.