Just because the cost to copy IP today is near nothing doesn&#x27;t mean that there are not fixed costs into the generation of IP.<p>Also you&#x27;re right, patents and copyrights are not there to create scarcity - an IP owner can use a license that allows absolutely everyone to use it.  They exist to give the owner a timeframe with which to recooperate costs of IP generation (and yes, the copyright timeframe is too long but patents are reasonable).