On Mon, 20 Jan 2003 15:34:09 +0800, you wrote: > > None of this is relevant to individuals copying works for scholarship or > research. "Fair Use" still applies. > > Matthew X wrote: > > > We learned as much on Wednesday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that > > Congress can repeatedly extend copyright terms, as it did most recently in > > 1998 when it added 20 years to the terms for new and existing works. > > > He wanted to publish on the Internet a number of books that should have > > been in the public domain by now. The people who still control most older > > works have demonstrated little or no interest in making them available -- > > and our heritage dwindles by the day. > > How can it "dwindle?" The public domain can only increase or hold > steady. All this ruling does is damp the rate of increase. > > Marc de Piolenc
It is like Medicare, and taxes on the rich. The absence of an increase is called a "cut", or "dwindling". See "Doublespeak". More seriously, the public domain becomes stagnant and dwindles due to a substantial reduction in new additions after the extention of copyrights. It becomes stagnant and dwindles, like a library that is not adding books and no longer receives magazines. ~~~
