It certainly was not the first peaceful turn-over of power in history - there are many examples, but Cincinnatus[1] immediately sprang to my mind. He actually was given and then gave up dictatorial powers twice (note that being a dictator meant in the Roman political system something different than what it means today [2]).
Just a small clarification: in OE ð and þ were used interchangeably. Between voiced sounds they were pronounced as in Modern English "then", otherwise as in Modern English "thin".
The author puts encyclopedic knowledge and movies in the same category ("information") and seems to be arguing that they both should be freely available.
I'm not saying that current copyright system isn't completely screwed up and in need of reform, but I don't think disregarding content creators is an optimal solution.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Quinctius_Cincinnatus
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_dictator