Nice way to ignore the substance and focus on something quite tangential.

Merely for your information (yes, I know you hate the term whenever I use it), I did go to the linked article and perused the site. Since I did not find any attribution to the second quote you noted in your article, I performed a web search to try and determine from whence came the reference to Jefferson’s view of his “hemp brake”. Of course, attribution was nowhere to be found, though I did note that the top search results were nothing more than techdirt’s article, straightdope’s article, and copycat articles that were all identical. Moreover, I ran a search through my personal library of Jefferson’s work to see if the gist of the quote was contained anywhere therein. This as well yielded no relevant information. Thus, what I was left with was a statement, the basis for which is not readily apparent.

Since you feel compelled to bring up the subject of research, I presume that you as well did not take the second quote at face value and did attempt to perform some level of research to ascertain if it has some measure of validity. After all, the premise of your article is that even Jefferson “clearly was quite skeptical of the actual benefits of such a system.’

I have read over the years many publications, articles, letters, etc. about Jefferson’s views concerning patent law. Yes, he was skeptical of anything pertaining to “monopolies” and did express concerns regarding the concept that eventually was adopted as Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 to the US Constitution. As an original member of the group that passed upon the merits of patent applications he brought that skepticism with him. His later writings, however, reflect that his skepticism later gave way to a view that the incentive afforded by patents did yield positive results. The fact he may have personally chosen not to utilize the patent laws can in no reasonable way be interpreted as his viewing such laws as harmful to the promotion of progress in the useful arts.

Quite frankly, I believe Anti-Mike is correct in the fourth paragraph to his comment at 21 above. I think it quite likely that in the not too distant future you will author an article with a link back as he suggests.

I agree with many of the economic arguments you raise in support of your positions, but do not share the same opinion as it relates to a historical representation of Mr. Jefferson’s views concerning patent law. There is much more to his views than your articles suggest, leading at times to factually inaccurate or misleading portrayals. Moreover, it is disingenuous to focus almost exclusively on Mr. Jefferson to the exclusion of the views of others of his colleagues who collectively contributed to the establishment of our initial rules of law, including both patent and copyright law.

A final comment, if I may. Nothing I am stating here or have stated elsewhere reflects my endorsement or agreement with laws enacted pursuant to the “Copyright and Patent Clause” or the “Commerce Clause”. My opinions are these and other matters are expressed in professional organizations in which I am a member. It does bear mentioning, though, that in most instances I am in the minority when I advocate drawing back the law to more closely align with the concepts underlying why the law was created in the first place. Think what you will, but to lump me in with “maximalists” would be incorrect.