Re: VinceH - a fair point
To take it a little farther, compare countries with strong IP laws against those with weak or no IP laws. Tell me which set of countries has developed the most technology, drugs, software, etc over the past 300 years. Which countries have allowed the use of monopolies to encourage investment, has it worked? Which developed countries have shunned IP protection and thrived?
Look around you, that technology, your phone, your computer, your router etc, all based on IP and frequently on standards backed by IP to allow inter operation. If it costs X to develop something but Y to manufacture it, and Y < X, what incentive does a company have to push forward in differentiating its products. It can just produce what everyone else produces. Money spent on r&d is wasted as any new feature can be copied freely by competitors.