Lawrence Lessig -- Round Three General IP Issues6/22/2000; 8:14:07 AM It's round three... Lawrence Lessig:

It is the principles that matter: design principles, like e2e, and legal principles, like limited intellectual property rights and sensible contracting law. Eric [Raymond] agrees with these principles; his excellent criticism of patents and UCITA evinces as much. But he believes these principles follow from the embrace of laissez-faire. I don't get how the invisible hand defines principled law. UCITA, the DMCA, and the business method patent are all modifications to the conditions (contract and property law) that laissez-faire takes for granted. Among laissez-faire theorists, each of these changes is hotly contested. There are many who view strong intellectual property rights as fundamental property rights, as sacred as the right to land or chattel.

Emphasis mine.Much as I respect Eric Raymond, I think he's missing Eric's point. In a fair fight, the 'hacker ethic' of freedom might win... but it is not shaping up as a fair fight.