The U.S. has demanded in recent free-trade agreements that foreign governments import I.P. regimes even though they hinder access to protected technologies. After repeating the I.P. party line that protection is necessary to spur innovation, but that a "balance" is necessary to protect the interests of entrepreneurs, inventors, and consumers alike (excuse me while I adjust the scales...there, that's it), he points out that the American economy grew rapidly in its youth by ignoring I.P. laws. He might have pointed out that foreign authors got paid on their American sales even without an American copyright law.

He nails it at the end by pointing out that I.P. laws making the world safe for Pfizer, Microsoft, and Disney don't deserve the name free trade. Now if he could just ditch the balancing act.