'Intellectual property' is illusory
Arrival of the digital era makes plain a truth hitherto obscured. Previously, information (e.g. cultural artefacts) was conveyed on physical media (e.g. paper and vinyl disks). 'Medium' and 'message' were inseparable; the medium, being physical, could be traded according to conventional market-economics based on scarcity and price discovery. It was 'obvious' the message was being traded because it was inseparable from the medium. Moreover, law was introduced enabling distribution of 'messages' to be a (time period limited) monopoly.
Digital representation of cultural artefacts breaks the tie between one instance of the message and one particular instance of the substrate conveying it (medium). Thereby, 'scarcity' is abolished.
Digital sequences are capable of being copied and transmitted without degradation; this not being so for analogue representation. Moreover, copying entails negligible expense, and transmission likewise. The upshot is that digital sequences are incapable of being 'owned' in the manner of physical objects. Sequences cannot be stolen because the alleged 'owner' has not been deprived of anything. Also, once loose, they cannot be corralled; this despite efforts to apply anachronistic law and technical obstacles (e.g. Digital Rights Management). The act of creation may be likened to discovery of a particularly interesting sequence in the Platonic Heaven containing all conceivable sequences of given lengths.
So, regardless of objection raised by people stuck in nineteenth century modes of thought, copyright cannot be enforced. That is a pragmatic rather than moral or legal statement. Disobedience to copyright abounds and increases. Mainly this results from restrictive practices and price gouging by so-called rights' holders. Nevertheless, there is compelling reason supporting the contention that 'intellectual property' (here we concentrate on copyright) cannot exist and the specious notion of copyright impairs rather than promotes creative activity.
Limitations to copyright's reach (e.g. 'fair use') were considered at its inception but have proven ineffective at providing safe ground for truly creative activity. This arises from severe restriction on production of 'derivative' works. The simple fact is all works are derivative else they would lack context and their cultural worth would be ignored. The greatest among creative historical figures acknowledged debt (certainly not the monetary kind) to their intellectual forebears. Sometimes, composers would openly base a work on variations on a theme from somebody else's works and make proper attribution/homage. These days, woe betide anyone daring to produce 'Variations on the theme of the Beatles' "It's a hard days night"; mercifully, nobody has bothered.
There is more to say, but not now. The argument proceeds by looking at how 'entitlement to attribution" replaces copyright. It is shown that truly creative people are able to raise income, by various means, from those admiring their works. These days, via the Internet, creative individuals can interact directly with their 'audience' without need of rights' holding intermediaries. Members of the audience, instead of being passive 'consumers' can participate in creative dialogue and mess around with derivative ideas (how about writing an alternative ending to a 'Harry Potter' story?). The grand losers in all this shall be copyright cartels and middlemen with distribution 'rights'. Expression of creative thought shall benefit, and in absence of price-gouging cartels, the public shall have disposable income available to promote activity by those they admire.