> I strongly object to the idea that IP rights are only real to the extent that they are a) granted by the state and b) encourage additional creative effort.
Then you'll have to amend the Constitution. Or you could try to make the argument that the 1st amendment supersedes the Article 2 authority to establish copyright. Some people are doing that, but I'm pretty sure they're going to lose.
> If there is a creative work that might have been produced but wasn't, for the reason you'd like me to somehow cite evidence for, by what search method (other than knowledge of my own personal creative endeavors) should I seek out such an example?
By the same methodology that you use to do any market research: ask people in the industry. There is ample precedent for this sort of thing. For example, the production of small general aviation aircraft more or less ceased during the 80's and 90's. It was pretty straightforward to show that the reason this happened was because of liability laws. These laws were changed in 1994, and now the production of light aircraft resumed.
I don't see an analogous shortage of movies. Quite the opposite: there seems to be an overwhelming glut on the market. The Sundance Film Festival got 8000 submissions for 100 openings. There's so much new music coming out that it's a full time job to keep up with it all. That seems to me like pretty compelling evidence that piracy is not much of an impediment to production.
Then you'll have to amend the Constitution. Or you could try to make the argument that the 1st amendment supersedes the Article 2 authority to establish copyright. Some people are doing that, but I'm pretty sure they're going to lose.
> If there is a creative work that might have been produced but wasn't, for the reason you'd like me to somehow cite evidence for, by what search method (other than knowledge of my own personal creative endeavors) should I seek out such an example?
By the same methodology that you use to do any market research: ask people in the industry. There is ample precedent for this sort of thing. For example, the production of small general aviation aircraft more or less ceased during the 80's and 90's. It was pretty straightforward to show that the reason this happened was because of liability laws. These laws were changed in 1994, and now the production of light aircraft resumed.
I don't see an analogous shortage of movies. Quite the opposite: there seems to be an overwhelming glut on the market. The Sundance Film Festival got 8000 submissions for 100 openings. There's so much new music coming out that it's a full time job to keep up with it all. That seems to me like pretty compelling evidence that piracy is not much of an impediment to production.