On Thu, December 7, 2006 9:48 am, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > On Tue, Dec 05, 2006 at 05:21:36PM -0800, Lan Barnes wrote: >> I'm also wondering if it's more justified to strip people of their right >> to make money from their creations if there are only a few making big >> bucks. I don't make big bucks -- is it OK to steal my paycheck? > > Copyright is an aritificial creation like taxes. People made it up and > people > can change it if they wish. We don't discuss abolishing copyright because > it > 'sounds cool' but because the benefits would outweigh the cons. > > Any discussion of creators' rights has to be balanced with mention of the > public's rights. Another related question you may ask is this: > > "I'm wondering if it is justified to strip the public of its right to > learning > & edification from existing creations. The creators benefitted from a > public > domain without paying big bucks for it -- is it OK for them to steal from > the > public again now?" > > CS > >
I completely agree with what you say. However, I cannot understand how abolishing copyright represents "balance." Giving all rights to the public, including opportunistic profiteering reproducers, hardly represents balance, at least as I understand it. Likewise, the current system of perpetual copyright and increasingly draconian punishment (can "copyright terrorist enemy combatant" be far from us?) is not balance. The system is screwed and needs fixing -- but not abolishment. IIRC my post had the word "balance" repeatedly, sometimes in short sentences, once alone. So you are agreeing with me :-P -- Lan Barnes SCM Analyst Linux Guy Tcl/Tk Enthusiast Biodiesel Brewer -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
