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Politics : The Castle -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: i-node who wrote (968)	1/16/2003 11:48:20 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7936

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 The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors www4.law.cornell.edu fairuse.stanford.edu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 loc.gov

To: i-node who wrote (968)	1/17/2003 12:52:44 AM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7936

So, should Shakespeare's heirs still have the right to control his work? How about Plato's?

To: i-node who wrote (968)	1/18/2003 9:45:19 PM
From: MSI	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7936

And why should she EVER have to give it up? Contrary to common belief, gov't protections for copyright and patents are not for the benefit of the inventor, commercializing interests, or heirs, but specifically designed to benefit the country and citizenry at large. The Constitution deems that intellectual property and initial profits are accorded special temporary protection by gov't powers, paid for by the entire country. The purpose of these special protections is to spur further development for public benefit, not create works that are then removed from the public domain forever. The problem occuring now is being spurred by corp interests, which have arisen to become more represented in gov't than the people. It is the corps who lobby for unlimited ownership rights to intellectual property, depriving the initial Act of its purpose. Corps are immortal, and officers of the larger ones have much greater influence than other citizens. The benefits of corp elimination of the original public right accrue more to the corp and it's largest shareholders, than the public at large.