Its ok to make the copyrights last for a long time, I just don't think they should last forever.
I sell my work product on the Internet, where people download my software, try it for 30 days, and it "times out" at which time they pay for it or quit using it. I know from the early days that the honor system doesn't work. At one point we actually distributed the software with a nag screen "begging" for registrations, but with no enforcement. It doesn't work. People don't see it as theft. I would not be able to pay my bills if I couldn't enforce my copyright to some extent -- but we know that we lose a lot of money to piracy and license agreement violations.
OK but I'm not talking about pirates, I'm talking about hastleing the people who buy your software. Not letting them make back up copies and controling how they use the software. Thats what the movie studios are trying to do with their ouput. And it won't stop serious pirates who will be able to crack it, it will just annoy legitmate users.
So, what is fair use?
Sec. 107. - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -
(1)
the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2)
the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3)
the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4)
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors
www4.law.cornell.edu
fairuse.stanford.edu
utsystem.edu
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