Hi Tim, On Tue, 10 Aug 2010, Tim Schofield wrote:
> Chris, I believe you are mixing patents with copyright, they are very > different. I don't believe that I am mixing them up. I was very specifically talking about copyright. However they are quite similar. Under the US constitution, both were established "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_patent_law] > Copyright law has been around for hundreds of years. So has patent law: "Patents in the modern sense originated in 1474, when the Republic of Venice enacted a decree that new and inventive devices, once put into practice, had to be communicated to the Republic to obtain the right to prevent others from using them." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent] > It isn't some malevolent plot by western countries, or by large western > corporations. I didn't say it was a plot, I said it had become, over time, more useful to those who have more power to gain even more power, as in "the rich get richer, the poor get poorer". > Copyright protects open source software. Yes, although open source software contributes something back to the public (albeit not usually in the Public Domain), so I think that applying copyright law to protect open source software gives more to the public than applying to protect closed source. > I assume you are happy to accept the rights open source gives you, Yes, but these rights are exceptions to the exclusive right granted by copyright. The rights would exist even if copyright did not. > but with rights come responsibilities. Says who? > This list seems to want to take those rights, and ignore their > responsibilities. I take offence at that statement. My understanding is that we are having a discussion about the legality of copying, archiving and rebroadcasting copyrighted works in Uganda. That doesn't mean that "this list" (or rather its members, as the list is a piece of open source software) wants to do anything other than discuss said legality. > i just keep repeating that I believe this attitude to be wrong. You will > never convince me that it is right. Fine, then I will shut up. Cheers, Chris. -- Aptivate | http://www.aptivate.org | Phone: +44 1223 760887 The Humanitarian Centre, Fenner's, Gresham Road, Cambridge CB1 2ES Aptivate is a not-for-profit company registered in England and Wales with company number 04980791. _______________________________________________ LUG mailing list [email protected] http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug LUG is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ All Archives can be found at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. ---------------------------------------
