The Alphabet Goons can suck it, Part 4.
The point of the Alphabet Goons series is to highlight the weakness in using litigation and foul play to delay the extinction of a business model. Just because times change and there are advancements in technology doesn't give corporations and cartels the right to use the threat of legal action to preserve themselves. Most regular people do not have the means to fight a lawsuit against a cartel of corporations representing "artists' best interests." Nevermind the fact that most artists don't care either way about swapping files or tabs on the internet, somebody's wallet is being threatened and this gives them the right to threaten yours. Litigation, therefore, is threatened with the knowledge that 99% of people will cave in and do whatever it takes to settle or avoid the lawsuit. Behavior seen as unprofitable to these businesses is essentially curbed as fear is instilled in most of the population.
Darwinism extends into economics, and firms that can anticipate and react to technological and societal changes will thrive and prosper, while those who do not will perish. The threat of litigation in order to continue using an outdated business model amounts to nothing more than corporate welfare. Much like social welfare, this system rewards those companies who would rather stay stagnant than progress. But instead of some entity writing out a check to the corporation, a company uses threats that have the ultimate effect of preserving themselves.
Let's take a look into the past to see what would happen if this mentality were tolerated at any time of our great history.
Year: 1893
Charles Edgar Duryea and Frank Duryea have just constructed the first successful gasoline powered automobile, and they are about to create the first car manufacturing company.
Charles: Holy shit, this thing actually works! We need to mass produce these jokers before somebody invents labor unions and Japan.
Frank: I think labor unions and Japan are already around man. Besides, who wants to buy a car named Duryea? Sounds too much like diarrhea.
Charles: We'll work on semantics later. Think of the possibilities...
*A loud noise comes in from the horizon. It sounds like a police siren, but gayer*
Random guy on horse: Hold it right there. You can't mass produce these cars. I'm from the HCAA, that's right, the Horse & Carriage Asshole Association. We own the idea of transporting people and goods from one point to another. If you make this car, we'll sue.
Charles: You can't own the concept of transportation. People walk short distances on foot all the time. Also, what about bicycles?
HCAA guy: Next on our agenda is to outlaw bicycles and chop off people's feet. Our business will not survive with this "automobile" of yours out there on the market. What would we do with all our horses and carriages?
Frank: Turn the horses into dog food, glue, and guitar strings. Most carriage parts can be used in the automobile since tires aren't rubber yet.
HCAA guy: How about we just threaten you with a lawsuit for $10,000? (Note: this was a shitload of money back then, like a billion dollars now)
*Duryea brothers run away in fear of the HCAA. The car is never invented. Millions die while horse dealers and carriage makers prosper.*
So there you have it. This is truly a slippery slope. What's next, the American Cancer Society suing someone who finds the perfect cure for cancer? Philip Morris (makers of Marlboro cigarettes) suing doctors who tell their patients to quit smoking? Home phone companies suing everyone with a cell phone? I'm not sure what we can do to change the corporate mentality of using the threat of litigation for their own survival. All I do know is that we are all fucked. And I have some bass tabs to download.
Back to find more ways that the world is doomed...