bogus corporate whining about "intellectual property"

if you've ever noticed that corporations are always sure to protect what they call their "intellectual property," i hope you've also noticed how their concern goes out the window when it comes to the intellectual property (inventions) of others, like canadians norman breakey, who invented the paint roller, and woodward and evans, who patented a glass bulb with a carbon filament in 1875. none of these guys had the cash it took to mass produce their inventions, so they had to sell them to those who did, in the latter case, to edison. "intellectual property" is a concept like "freedom of the press," something guaranteed to those who own the means of production, including the printing presses.