In "The Laws of Disruption," Larry Downes writes that "technology changes exponentially, but social, economic and legal systems change incrementally," reports Jeremy Philips in the Wall Street Journal (10/13/09). In other words, where the "digital revolution" is concerned, Larry thinks "our laws have not kept pace with the changes it has brought about." So, for instance, he thinks "regulators should leave the web alone and simply protect it from interference -- for example, by granting immunity to websites that might be sued for the comments of their users."

He also thinks that "treating information as a kind of property just doesn't work anymore." For example: "one person reading an e-book doesn't prevent someone else from reading it at the same time." However, Jeremy Philips counters that "the value of a book has always been in the words, not the paper -- and those words still need to be protected, in whatever form they appear." Larry also suggests that "the value of information ... increases exponentially as new users absorb it." But Jeremy observes that this isn't always true, citing financial data, the value of which increases with its scarcity.

Larry then argues that brand value increases the more broadly it is distributed. Again, Larry says this just isn't necessarily so, noting, "Firms carefully protect their brands to ensure that they are not over-exposed or given the wrong associations." He notes that Jeremy "himself illustrates the distinction when he discusses the dispute between Apple Inc. ... and Apple Corps ... over the use of the trademark 'Apple.'" Finally, Larry thinks that since it's "virtually impossible for average consumers to avoid violating copyright law" such laws should be changed. And Jeremy thinks this would be "a perverse way of reducing infringement."