> From: Asheesh Laroia > I wonder if anyone else on this list agrees with you that authors have a > "lifelong" "natural right" to "control the use of their work".
I jolly well hope they don't agree, because it's utter bunkum. Unfortunately, with the old king publisher's descent, there are two pretenders to the soon to be vacated throne: 1) Authorial champions - for the right of the author to control use of their published work 2) Public champions - for the right of members of the public to share and build upon published works I'm firmly on the side of the latter. You'll find CC on the side of the former (see http://www.digitalproductions.co.uk/index.php?id=62 ). > I am interested to know what makes you feel this is a perpetual > natural right. The law has been corrupted to establish this as its received wisdom. > I'm *sure* we're boring many > people on this list to tears. If some such bored person > thinks we should > separate philosophy discussion onto a separate list and keep > this list for > discussing activities and events instead, then make a > suggestion to do > that; otherwise we'll keep discussing philosophy here. Yes. We could have a [EMAIL PROTECTED] list and an [EMAIL PROTECTED] list. I'm interested to know about this implicit audience you address that appears to be fully comfortable with what the heck free culture is, but just wants to get on and make it happen. The last thing we'd want to do is bore them to tears and demotivate them, the poor dears... > From what I can read, Thomas Jefferson said individuals may > choose not to divulge information they have not published. The great tragedy is that TJ is no longer with us. We both agree with TJ. Unfortunately, TJ is not the law. Over 300 years the legislature has through a series of tiny interpretative alterations gradually mutated law away from TJ and towards the countervailing view of his detractors. > Earlier in the same letter, he writes: > It has been pretended by some, (and in England especially,) that > inventors have a natural and exclusive right to their > inventions, and not > merely for their own lives, but inheritable to their heirs. Yup. So this should have been a big clue as to how things would become distorted. > The letter continues as an effort to reject this "natural and > exclusive right" notion. As you say, there has been a history of this rejection being reiterated, not that it does any good. The cognoscenti have the pleasure of knowing the truth, everyone else simply enjoys, in blissful ignorance, their natural and exclusive right to their inventions and writings. > The American tradition has nothing to do with these "natural > rights" to which you refer. What matters is not tradition as perceived by historians, but the present day, the present law, and public opinion and practice. > But don't be a cultural imperialist and tell me > Jefferson's perspective "is a myth". That it is law is the myth. Why do you think copyright term extension is so easily obtained and countenanced? It is because the law understands that the term is necessary to protect the natural rights of all authors, their heirs and assigns, for the limited time that their works continue to be valuable. You can quote TJ until you're blue in the face, but lawyers are divorced from such romantic notions as upholding his great American tradition. > Because we disagree on this fundamental point of perspective > - you believe > in some "natural right" of authors to prevent the reuse of > their ideas, > whereas the American tradition is based on rejecting that > notion - can we > please stop fighting over it and talk about something more > substantive? I don't think we disagree with each other. We both have a disagreement with the law. > P.S. For the record, I also take issue with your complaint that the > "public domain" was created by "IP maximalists". Hehe. Tell me who created it then? Find mention of 'public domain' in the statute books. It ain't there. ;-) _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss
