Last Update: Thursday August 28, 2008

Over $600 Billion ripped off through the pied pipers of piracy

Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Seattle: The simple commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," just four words, is ingrained in our conscience. Now we struggle to understand why we act so differently when it comes to Intellectual Properties (IP). The estimated global annual losses, over $600 billion in 2006, continue to escalate.

Economies grow when money is transacted for something of value. Theft kills economies and IP theft is a real pandemic.

Lying, cheating and stealing has been going on forever. But now, the other IP (Internet Protocol) has made it so easy to steal, our children and all sorts of decent-loving-gentle people think nothing about "borrowing, using, enjoying" and otherwise ripping off somebody else's creative work.

While we were sleeping, the Pied Pipers of Piracy enlisted an entire college generation to begin nabbing other people's property "intellectual property" without regard for the consequences. Their recruitment was viral. Not only did their business model encourage young fans and average folks to rip off artists because it was quick, easy, free and anonymous, these otherwise decent people had begun acting and thinking like common thieves.

In this episode of the show we visit with the lawyers who argued down Grokster in the U.S. Supreme Court. We visit with a small business owner who is being ripped off, a composer who is figuring it out, and technologists who are waging the war to protect our intellectual assets. More on Grokster / Napster...

All the Key ideas and video of this episode...

*Called a sliver of genius

In the earliest days of the broadcasts of this show (back in 1994-1995), it was a special segment until we began to realize virtually every successful business is built on that special focus.

We are facing a pandemic of lying, cheating and stealing.

The Internet is creating a web of theft than can bring down cultures. When money is circulated for products and services, an economy emerges. New ideas, improvements, and inventions emerge. Our unique genius* is awakened. Theft stifles it all. And, Internet theft is a virulent virus.

In these episodes let us explore the very heart and soul of business, democracy, and capital.

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	Why did the USA explode as a world economy? What is the heart of capitalism? ...of democracy? ...of freedom? Business to thrive requires the first principles of democratic capitalism. Michael Novak is a world-class scholar and helps explain these basic business principles. Key Question: How do I start a business?"
	Leadership? Where is it? Who has it? First, we need to cultivate our own leadership abilities to grow our businesses. We need to know what empowers real leadership. Keith Grint is a world-class scholar and helps us in this discussion. Key Question: What is a path for growth?
	E-culture is opening a new level of transparency. As the web evolves, it creates a deeper transparency, a four-dimensional mirror that nobody will be able to avoid. Learn about the power of this emerging e-culture. Key Question: How do I buy a business?
	You must sell your ideas right from the beginning. That is your intellectual capital. Protect it, but sell it, in the markets. Nobody loves your ideas as much as you do. Study more about ideation and how ideas become inventions, then businesses to be sold. Key Question: Who is the best buyer? Prior homepage (go back several seasons)