I disagree with their ultra leftist bent, but I agree with their thoughts on Intellectual Property. Heres an excerpt from a group of Italian authors that go by the pseudonym Luther Blissett:
These classes and interests are obsolete even from a capitalist point of view: nowadays wealth is produced in such a way that makes copyright outdated, an ideological wreck whose mere existence inhibits creativity, curbs the growth of "cognitive capital". Present-day growth requires networks of social cooperation and brainstorming in all directions. In order to be productive, ideas must be free to circulate.
If you wish to hear classic Marxist terms, we'll say that the development of productive forces is provoking a crisis in the relations of production. Think of P2P platforms which allow you to share and exchange MP3 files; think of such technologies of reproduction as CD burners: the fact that these things are on the market proves that the Berne convention on intellectual property is being superceded by the very development of productive forces.
In plain words, if you sell me such technologies as computers, samplers, scanners, CD burners and photocopiers, then you shouldn't be entitled to call the cops because I'm allegedly using them "the wrong way"!
There is a vast (not yet fully self-conscious) anti-copyright movement, which the intellectual property mafia oppose fiercely by worsening the existing laws. Moreover, the mob counterattacks on a bigger scale by extending the logic of intellectual property to living beings and human genes, which means that the battle on copyrights is one of the most important frontlines in the present-day socio-ecological war.
Anyway, "we" are winning the battle on the cultural industry, just think of music: nowadays big record companies plead poverty, attack "pirates", witness the dramatic decrease of their profits. Perfect!
Bubbles are bursting and parasites get debunked, e.g. clowns who've become millionaires just because their one and only hit has been played at piano bars for thirty years, or well known associations that monopolize the enforcement of copyright laws and share the money they extort between the Big Families that control the business etc. etc.
The way we access to music (and all cultural artifacts) is changing, "mass culture" is being replaced by a new kind of "folk" culture, which stems on live performances, solidarian networks, sharing, DIY culture (self-production, self-distribution, word-of-mouth). After all, it will get less and less important to know who wrote this and who wrote that. Artists will cease to be Authors (with the capital "a") or "personages", they'll become storytellers again, they'll be minstrels, bards, griots.
