Intellectual property, or IP, allows our society to package ideas, knowledge, and inventions. But the person who thinks of the idea is not necessarily the one who owns it. Rather, it belongs to the one who first secures the expensive patent. Anyone wishing to use a patented idea, whether it is scientific or artistic, has to pay a fee. These fees are called royalties.
There are rumors surfacing that some famous entrepreneurs have already been appointed as non-executive directors of a corporation that will be listed on the stock exchange. This corporation has plans to control the world through its patents.
Agriculture Industry
Agriculture is one area where this is already happening. Farmers around the world are paying royalties to the conglomerates that sell patented seeds. These seeds germinate, but they do not reproduce. So each year, helpless farmers have to buy a fresh batch, along with pesticides and fertilizers that are exclusively designed to work on those patented seeds.
Pharmaceutical Industry
The pharmaceutical industry is also a target for this type of control. The corporation plans to develop all sorts of pills and tablets that humans must consume regularly. Each drug will not contain the medical cure, per se. It will just renew the license to the cure.
For example, imagine if you could subscribe to a wrinkle-free face. The cure would be sold at an affordable price, but the license would have to be renewed every week by taking a tablet that contains enzymes that stop the cure from expiring.
Rise of Subscription-Based Models
The corporation's goal is to tap into the micro economy of small, regular payments made for life. By its sheer size, it will dominate the politicians. Profitable corporations of the future will be those that no longer need loyal customers, but can secure royal subjects - people who will become consumers for life, not by choice, but by no other choice.
This technology will create a form of economic superglue that binds and bonds... permanently, against your will. One day you'll subscribe to a wrinkle-free face. The next, you'll subscribe to change the color of your skin, or the color of your hair, without using peroxide or hair dyes. Imagine the convenience of having excellent eyesight without laser surgery. Wouldn't you pay twenty dollars per month to maintain twenty-twenty vision? What about healthy nails, a clean liver, a strong heart, a richer sex life, manageable cholesterol levels, or no diabetes?
There is also the possibility of designing your own children through the use of genetic blueprints and injections. Plug in the size, shape, and every feature, and you can engineer the perfect offspring.
This type of control and manipulation raises questions about the future of technical ingenuity and the role of patents in society. Do we need more technical advances, or should we appreciate what we already have?
These are all important questions to consider as we move towards a future where corporations hold increasing power and control through the use of patents and intellectual property.
This blog post really made me think about the role of patents and intellectual property in our society. It's crazy to think about the power that corporations could hold in the future through the use of patents, especially in industries like agriculture and pharmaceuticals. I can't even imagine having to pay royalties to use patented seeds or constantly renewing a license for a medical cure. And the idea of subscription-based models for things like a wrinkle-free face or perfect eyesight is wild. It all feels like a form of manipulation and control, and it makes me question whether we really need more technical advances or if we should just appreciate what we already have. This is definitely something to think about as we move forward.