On Monday 11 April 2005 08:47 pm, Todd Walton wrote:quote history > On Apr 11, 2005 8:29 PM, Tracy R Reed <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I don't think the movie industry needs copyrights longer than a few > > years. That's how long it takes them to turn a very nice profit. > > Anything after that is just waste. Give them just enough incentive to > > make it worthwhile but no more. > > So, the movie industry is like a caged dog. Throw it a meaty bone > once in a while so it stays alive and makes a nice pet, but don't let > it get too full. > > I don't mean that as flamebait. What I mean is that copyrights (and > *anything* government) should not be decided on the practical effect > it has, but on ideology. Is it right or is it not? The individuals > who comprise "the movie industry" are real human beings, and have > human rights. If they're entitled to own the movies they make, then > there's no reason we should ever take away that entitlement. > Certainly not arbitrarily like that. And if they're *not* entitled to > own the movies they make, then we shouldn't even pretend like it in > the first place, because then we're removing the right that the rest > of us have to use/copy/view the movie as we like. > > -todd
The patent system is not identical to copyright nor are the issues identical. Patents were setup so society would gain the benefits of open disclosure of what would otherwise be adequately protected as "trade secrets". In exchange for this benefit society grants a monopoly for a limited term in the form of a patent. Thomas Jefferson, ever the radical, was originally opposed to patents, saying, "He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me." Madison won him over arguing essentially that a practical compromise of a monopoly for a limited duration was a good way to encourage inventors to disclose their work. Needless to say their is a huge amount of relevant history and analysis available on the net. A sampling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b44a5770702.htm Actual reading of their correspondence may be the best place to start but I have not had much luck Googling for it this evening. Maybe some else can provide a decent link to that exchange. boblq -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
