1 Apr
2002
1 Apr
'02
8:14 a.m.
It was thus said that the Great Christopher Smith once stated:
Not quite so easy here in the States. From the Constitution of the United
States, Article 1, Section 8:
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;
From this derives copyright and patent law (even Fair Use is not defined
in the Constitution---that comes from the 1976 Copyright Act when the common
practice of fair use was put into law). To abolish copyright, you would
need to amend the Constitution.
For anyone wanting to abolish copyright it would behoove them study the
results obtained in France after the French Revolution when copyright law
was abolished.
-----Original Message-----
From: Douglas H. Quebbeman [mailto:dquebbeman@acm.org]
Adam Schiff, another congressman from California,
is proposing
a similiar law. Adam has stated that he doesn't expect the law to
pass, but that its sole purpose is to gain leverage against the
high-tech industry regarding the copyright issue and in favor of
the entertainments industry.
In other words, they we'll all be
sufficiently scared that
we'll finally
give up some ground in the copyright issue. What ground is left
to give up? They've already lengthened the terms of protection
when they should have been shortening them.
What issue is there? If they don't like copyright as it was
originally defined, fine. Abolish it. That's fair, and everyone's
still on equal ground. :) I think Mr. Schiff ought to be required to reimburse
the government
for the salaries (plus usage of buildings, etc) of all the people
whose time he wastes with his bill. That ought to be enough to spend
all the money that some companies are paying him for it, plus his own
salary, and make him get a job at McDonalds to make ends meet.
I think you're being kind.
-spc (He and the Honorable Hollings (cough) should be tossed out and
not allowed to hold public office for at least 12 years ... )