I see Humble Indie Bundle as a great piece of evidence that a patronage system like the one used during the Middle Ages would work much better than our current system of intellectual property, for although Humble Indie Bundle does not give the consumer the right to copy the games he purchases, it shows that even if the user is given the ability to choose how much or how little he pays, the developer can still make a reasonable profit.

The patronage system didn't work out very well during the middle ages for most artists because both their connections and potential market were very small (not many people could afford art or even wanted it then), but now that we have the internet, I really do think it is very feasible. Think about it: the development of games, videos, music, art, and science could all be funded by those people who are interested in it until it is finally released to the public for free. It wouldn't be socialism, as the creators would make a reasonable profit (depending upon how important society believes their progress would be), but at the same time we wouldn't have to deal with intellectual property "rights" which simply trample other basic human rights and stifle innovation.