| said by Sutheras:It's about time. Copyright laws are good and they were made and are supported by lawmakers and politicians who were chosen democratically Who were bought off by the media corporations, more like. I mean, let's be honest here.
The whole point to copyright law was that artists (or "content creators" if you prefer) not starve to death by having their content stolen right after they've created it. *Not* to have families supported in perpetuity by something done by a distant ancestor Once Upon a Time.
The part you're missing here is that if you protect works for too long, it stifles creativity. After someone's made their money for, say, 10 years (more than long enough to put their kids through college) there's no reason why a given work shouldn't become public domain. Indeed, with the media cycle being what it is, 10 years may be too long, but I'll leave that number up there anyway.
Instead, we have companies like Disney argue that an 80-year-old cartoon character should still be protected by copyright. Sorry, but Disney has made their money many times over and attempting to justify holding onto something that old just makes them look silly.
Creating a work and expecting to hold the rights to that work in perpetuity is just not a reasonable expectation.
said by Sutheras:and are qualified and who I respect more than the libertarian kids who whine about such things. You know, I could respect you a lot more if you actually understood Libertarianism better before you start dishing out the slams.
Libertarians are the strongest advocates for property rights you'll ever find. Because they realize that without private property (and ownership of same) society will not work.
That being said, even a Libertarian might have a tough time justifying, say, a 120-year copyright (after the date of creation) for works of corporate authorship. Which is what we have now (look it up).
There needs to be a middle road for copyrights so that artists can make their money, but that still releases a work into the public domain within a reasonable time so that others can make use of it. Unfortunately, that middle road has yet to be reached. |
