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Without it we would all be shitting in wooden buckets in front of open hearths.

Nope. Not at all. IP laws interfere with technological progress. Their purpose is to enrich lawyers and megacorporations, not to protect the "little guy." In contrast to the stagnation we see in most of the corporate world, including the music industry, consider the difference in industries that do not have IP protections.

That thumbnail looks too much like a TED type talk for me to click on it. which industries do not have IP protection?

It is a TED talk, and don't complain about the source of information. The subject is the fashion industry, where aside from trademark-type protections, there is no IP coverage. Clothing patterns are not subject to IP law.

It's less the source than the format, I just can't watch another one.

aside from trademark-type protections, there is no IP coverage.

so aside from the FBI raiding anyone violating their intellectual property there is no IP coverage? That seems like an industry entirely dependent on IP protection. Their whole thing is their brand, something which would be worthless without protection from knockoffs.