[gmw]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Oh, I know who he is, Gnu software and copyleft, but his ideas are certainly not what I am advocating. If he's making the same point about terminology, then it's because the point is one that's been around for a very long time. Various words have connotations in addition to the technical definitions. The words you use can draw an emotional response from the audience.

But that argument goes both ways. Those who do not like the way intangible goods are treated like property want to change the word so it seems like we should not treat it like property. But - surprise, surprise - business isn't particularly interested in making such a change because they like treating IP as property, it works for them.

Originally Posted by pwalker8

You are trying to expand the definition of finance to include everything. A term of art is used by an industry. Copyright might be about making sure authors get paid, but it's not about the financial industry.

I offered the financial connection as a non-conspiracy-theory explanation for the term: in financial terms intangibles like this have always been referred to as a form of property. So when you're creating something for business purposes it is not a big surprise that terminology used by business might make its way into the discussion.

And I am not responsible for the expansion of the term. It's not my fault, for example, that the general purpose dictionary Merriam-Webster include for property "something to which a person or business has a legal title*". They also include specific (legal) definitions for intangible property and intellectual property. (And a rather circular definition of legal title as: "the means or right by which one owns or possesses property".)

The point being that such use as (I think) was probably first established for business and financial purpose (the treatment of intangibles as property that could be used in trade) has become common enough to have made its way into general dictionary definitions.

So arguing that copyright is not property is now similar to arguing that decimate does not mean to cause great destruction. Historically the word may have had a more specific meaning, but the world has moved on and the meaning has changed.