As a writer I am certainly concerned with the state of intellectual property law. On the one hand, I want to ensure that there's a long enough chain of custody on any creative works that I produce that leads back to me as the originator, as I don't want someone else passing off my hard work as their own.

On the other hand, I'm not the kind of creative that wants to work in a vacuum. Collaboration can yield some amazing results, and - for instance - opening up a fictional world or setting and welcoming other writers in to create in that world usually results in a deeper vibrancy, making it more than the sum of its parts. A good example of this is the Cthulhu Mythos. Sure it was originated by H.P. Lovecraft, but even during his lifetime he welcomed his writer friends to pen stories using the tropes and settings of his world - as a result the Mythos not only survived Lovecraft's death but flourished.

That's why I get so disappointed when large, corporate IP holders quash labor-of-love fan projects like films or games set in an established universe. All those cease-and-desist letters do nothing but shackle and even outright forbid the kind of creativity that can enrich not just a particular IP but entertain its fans in ways that they may not be able to be otherwise. Most IP holders will claim that it's in order to protect the "integrity" or "quality" of their brand, but it's almost always an economic decision - they don't want someone else making profit off the IP unless it's them, regardless of how attenuated the connection might be. It's frustrating in the extreme.