The Copy Machine

Many years ago there was a fascinating science fiction story about an alien traveller who brought to earth two identical copy machines that could replicate anything. One of the first things done by the person who found them was to replicate one of the machines with the other. From that moment on, the copy machines proliferated all over the planet and everyone could replicate anything they wanted. As a result, it forced a complete transformation of civilization because it eliminated profits of those who mass produce any item. Think about what changes to civilization would be brought about with such a capability. Then, consider that we already have such a capability for replicating so-called "intellectual property". We try to protect that property with copyright laws, but how successful has that been? Is it time to re-think how we reward the creators of "intellectual property"?