...ts for us? Why do we have trademark law, this “homestead law for the English language”? 4 Why not simply allow anyone to use any name or attractive sy... ...ory—so long as he has a reason for focusing on that commonality. Second, the language of intellectual property exists. It has politi- cal reality in t... ...tual property exists. It has politi- cal reality in the world. Sometimes the language confuses and misleads. There are two possible reactions to such ... ...ne can attempt to point out the misperceptions and confusions using the very language in which they are embedded. I do not reject the first tactic. It ... ... 30 The economists made exactly Macaulay’s argument, though in less graceful language. They pointed out that copyright extension imposed enormous cost... ...ould not have thought that one could patent the idea of having an electronic Dutch auction on the Internet, working out the daily prices of a bundle o...