Should ideas be considered property?

I've seen the "Everything is a Remix" series before. It's one of the most interesting and thought-provoking sets of videos I've ever seen and forced me to heavily question my beliefs.

Prior to watching "Everything is a Remix", I was dead-set in my respect for intellectual property. I learned early on in school that plagiarism is theft and that copyrights and patents are as legitimate is the deed to one's house.

But unlike theft of physical property, ideas, as the video explains, are inspired by the ideas of others. There is no doubt that "we stand on the shoulders of giants" and that our thoughts and words are heavily influenced by the thoughts and words of others. Ideas are intangible and can happen simultaneously in separate minds, so there is a clear distinction between a thought and a piece of matter.

The concept of ideas being treated as property invokes feelings of Orwellian thought crimes. Should we be prosecuting people for the activity that takes place in their heads? Should we empower the authorities to investigate the content of our minds?

Towards the end of the video, the narrator says that the result of intellectual property laws has not been more progress and learning. This is a cynical and grossly inaccurate statement. We're on the verge of producing self-driving cars, renewable rocket ships, and private trips into outer space. Regardless of our policies on intellectually property, I'd say we're progressing just fine.

One potential problem I foresee that could come with easing up on intellectual property laws is replacing patent trolls with idea trolls. What would stop the parasitic among us from leaning over the shoulders of our innovators and stealing their ideas? How would an economy of inventors forced to shelter their thoughts and trust no one function?

I love discussing social and political issues and have principled opinions on most of them, but I need some more time to hear arguments and think this one through. It's a tough one.