Mr. Miller is right about one thing. On this and all other such lists we throw away our good ideas for the sake of conversation or initial recognition. Who knows how much of our writing here has been plagiarized for some personal gain? That's why I say my writing here is copyrighted and may not be used or reproduced for any any purpose whatsoever beyond the conversational confines of this list. At the same time I have permitted images of my work to be scattered around and while I try to control how they are used (such as no cropping or overprinting with text) I know there's a trade-off. In the long term, it can hurt my career and I keep aiming for more control.
Naturally I am a very firm believer in intellectual property rights. For people who make their livings by their own ideas and creative work, the protection of law is a necessity. Such protections for individuals and their freedoms and property go back to Magna Carta of 1215 (see clause 39). Whatever one may say about the myths surrounding Magna Carta and its original benefits to the aristocracy over the common man, it has served well as a guide for the elevation of the rule of law over the rule of men and thus is indeed the basis for all civilized efforts to protect individuals from arbitrary exploitation. Everyone knows that the widespread thefts of intellectual property, especially from individual artists and creators, is a scourge and a pressing issue in the new era of wireless technology. You can't have a civilized and prosperous society when free-for-all anarchy is ok for the powerful and dictatorial, catch-22 laws apply to the weak. Mr. Miller is very wrong in suggesting that copyright protections should not apply to artworks or similar products of creative efforts. He implies that the creator (or worker or slave) should have no access to freedom of choice or profit from his or her work but that others who only aim for profit, do. This is precisely what a system of laws based on the most ancient traditions of secular individual freedom, first formally recognized by England's Magna Carta, provide. Fiddle with that and tempt chaos and full scale collapse. Lots of people are doing exactly that. WC --- On Tue, 2/24/09, Chris Miller <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Chris Miller <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: It only makes sense that you would borro w from the past, take > w hat s best, what evoke s a response in yo urself from the > To: [email protected] > Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 8:21 AM > Regarding copyright and reproduction: copyright is not > necessary "to recover > their money on the original production" in the > following situations: > > *anything done on commission > (architecture,sculpture,musical composition etc) > > *concerts, plays, operas, circuses (or -- at least most of > them - excluding > the big hit musicals, I suppose, where licensing seems to > be such a cash cow) > > *literature (because there is no cost in the original > production -- other than > time -- and today, with the internet, there is even no cost > to publication) > > I realize that copyright was essential to your career as a > publisher -- as it > has been to mine as record dealer -- but I question its > importance regarding > the cultivation of the arts. (where > "cultivation" involves both sufficient > financial support and achieving standards of quality) > > Regarding Jane Austen, it seems to me that the publication > of her work had > little financial impact on her life until 1813 ( 3 years > before she died) It > was a result, but not a necessary condition for her > literary career. > > You can ask "how many possibly useful/desirable > works were NOT being written > and published" before copyright became law --- but I > can ask how much good > literature has been lost because writers abused their > talents to better > exploit a popular market. > > And nobody can answer either question. > > > ____________________________________________________________ > Come clean with a brand new shower. Click now! > http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/fc/BLSrjnxSDID88MwyqI6o0b8w3pVqLE > Hkx9Qem4s4UO5ByCLtoHiBEMgH6eM/
