John Stracke wrote:
If you get your copyright extended indefinitely (or put your materials
under copy protection, which amounts to the same thing), then you are
getting that monopoly for nothing; you are reneging on the bargain.
As I already said, "I also feel that Disney et al should have been
investing in new assets rather than working to lockup old assets"
I am/was arguing against the complete emasculation of IPR that Keith
called for in his original message:
| Let us dedicate ourselves to the worldwide abolishment of the
| provisions in intellectual property laws
The "provisions" make IPR functional as a currency. We don't solve cash
poverty by letting everybody print money whenever they want. That would
devalue cash to zero, exacerbating the problem rather than solving it, and
would limit any latent value to people with the resources to print
billions of dollars on demand. IPR as currency is no different in this
regard (although it is different in plenty of other ways), in that the
protection mechanisms are what makes it work.
To repeat the point, however, I am no believer in infinite protection.
--
Eric A. Hall http://www.ehsco.com/
Internet Core Protocols http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/coreprot/