Yesterday, Bloomberg Businessweek published a piece by Charles Kenny calling for the reduction of IP, particularly patent. An interesting component of Kenny’s argument is that patent is now a drag on GDP, and that trimming patent protection would raise GDP and – by extension – help raise tax revenue to solve the deficit problem. It’s an interesting argument, though I doubt it will get much traction in the present political environment. For better or worse (probably worse), we’re in times where more IP is seen as pro-business and pro-job, even if growing numbers of business executives are reaching the opposite conclusion.