bildstorm's Journal: IPR: Metadata and moving forward?

I've been fortunate enough to have been granted the arduous task of developing metadata standards as part of my job. While that doesn't sound like fun, it's given me a lot of exposure to differing opinions on all kinds of subjects.

One of my areas of interest is intellectual property law. It fascinates me enough that I'm really looking at taking the LSAT and moving into attending law school.

What I wonder is how we can move forward to make sensible laws and develop sensible technology to protect property for a reasonable time to make profit, without locking it away for an eternity. How can we keep corporations profitable while supports the actual content creators, and yet not infringe on the public intellectual domain?

I see metadata as a possible tool for that. Check out the PRISM standard.