At 07:39 PM 6/15/2003 -0500, you wrote: >Has anyone noticed the contradictions in Washington's policies towards the >Entertainment Industry and the Pharmaceutical Industry? > >We're told that the Entertainment Industry needs extended copyright periods >and strict limits on the rights of consumers to purchase "generic" >entertanment products but the Pharmaceutical Industry is being told that >copyright periods will not be extended and that it should be made easier to >purchase generic drugs... If Micky Mouse was a drug his copy protection >would have expired in about 50 years ago.
Do you mean patents on drugs? If so then I'd like to see both them and copyrights revised a bit. I honestly do believe in patents. The problem with complete eradication of patents is that a lot of future knowledge will be lost. Patents encourage companies to publicly expose critical information in exchange for years of legalized monopoly. Without patents a lot of future innovations will remain trade secrets. That would result in a lot of lost or reproduced effort. The current system though--especially as it pertains to software--needs to be worked on. --- Dustin Puryear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Puryear Information Technology Windows, UNIX, and IT Consulting http://www.puryear-it.com
