Pluralistic: The age of disinvention (25 Aug 2026)

Blog · Watch/Read · (gathered 2026-08-29)

• Cory Doctorow argues that the VCR was “disinvented” not by technological obsolescence, but by a deliberate campaign from media companies and electronics firms using litigation, “hook IP,” and anti-circumvention laws like DMCA 1201 to suppress disruptive features and maintain control over content.
• The 1984 Betamax decision, which protected technologies with “substantial non-infringing uses,” was systematically undermined by “hook IP” (embedded intellectual property dictating usage) and DMCA 1201, which criminalized bypassing “access controls” on devices, effectively allowing manufacturers to write their own criminal code.
• This suppression led to the “enshittification” of subsequent technologies (DVDs, PVRs, streaming) through “anti-features” like DVD region coding and the banning of recording capabilities, shifting value from users to corporations due to a lack of competition.
• Trump’s tariffs, by reneging on trade deals that mandated anti-circumvention laws globally, create an opportunity for other countries to lift these restrictions, potentially reintroducing “disinvented” technologies like the VCR and fostering a new era of user-centric innovation.