http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Copyright#Germany_without_copyright
I just discovered this. If true, it's pretty neat.
I'm not surprised because Germans had more freedom under the Kaiser than the British and American subjects did.
Good topic though: )
I believe that IP results in too much me-too production that would be inappropriate for a free market.
My dad says that Big Pharma patents too many "me too" drugs and that that is an inherent problem with IP. He also says the worst part of IP is that it goes against the Hippocratic Oath, because the Oath says information should (shall?) be given freely.
My reading of Hypocratic Oath is that it is similar to NAP - a doctor states that he will not do a bunch of bad things. I cannot find in English translation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath) anything meaning positive obligation, except maybe the part about the teachers.