Intellectual property is not a thought that you own. It’s an idea

Ah, it’s an idea, not a thought. Gotcha. Glad you cleared that up.

Something that actually takes time to make, often a whole lot of time.

Who the fuck cares? Dinner also takes a great deal of time to make.

Something you never would have dedicated as much time to if you couldn’t be compensated for it.

That’s not true. People have been telling stories and creating art since humanity climbed down from the trees. Compensation might encourage more people to do it, but there was never a time that people weren’t creating, regardless of compensation. In addition, copyright, patents and trademarks are only one way of trying to get compensation. The Sistine chapel ceiling was painted not by an artist who was protected by copyright, but by an artist who had rich patrons who paid him to work.

Maybe “Meg 2: The Trench” wouldn’t have been made unless Warner Brothers knew it would be protected by copyright until 2143. But… maybe it’s not actually necessary to give that level of protection to the expression of ideas for people to be motivated to make them. In addition, maybe the harms of copyright aren’t balanced by the fact that people in 2143 will finally be able to have “Meg 2: The Trench” in the public domain.