Ars Technica has a write up on the similarities between the current copyright battle and the property right battles of yester year:

[url]http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/copyright-crusade.ars[/url]

The article discusses a very similar situation regarding property in the early days of the US. As the US expanded, people would stake claims in land without paying the federal government. These people were called squatters. (sounds like another battle raging over trademarks doesn't it.)

But as history moved on, the government tried to instigate more strict laws to fight squatting. They tried evicting people, arresting them, but to no avail.

Eventually (after 100 years or so of this) the government gave up and restructured the laws to better accomidate people staking claims to land.

I don't do the solution justice. You will have to red it yourself.

But it does paint a very accurate picture of the battle looming over copyrights and copyrighted material.

Great read.