| Dear Editor-- |
| |
| Stan Bernstein ("Burned
by CD Burners", 2002 Sep 24) complains that CD burners destroyed
his store. While his argument against the infringement of legitimate
copyrigft bears some merit, it is hard to feel sympathy for someone
who has discovered he can no longer count on the outrageous practices
of the recording industry to guarantee his profit stream. |
| |
| Mr. Bernstein worries that "If people continue to pretend that
copyright laws don't exist, I believe we are witnessing the death of
'intellectual property' as a viable concept." To which I can only
say: Let's hope so. "Intellectual property" is not a time-honored,
sacred and inviolable precept of law. It is in fact a relatively recent
invention by the Content Cartel, a justification of draconian control
and oligarchic practice. |
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| Until recently, copyright was understood as a bargain between the
creator of the work and the public at large. Eminent judicial minds,
such as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, understood that one could never
own ideas, by their very nature: They are infinitely copyable; transmission
to a new person does not require loss by the original person. To help
encourage creative work, Congress was empowered to carve out temporary
artificial monopolies -- but always with the end goal of promoting "Science
and the Useful Arts". The Content Cartel -- with its hankering
for access control, elimination of Fair Use, and indefinite extension
of copyright temrs -- no longer desires that bargain. It wants absolute
perpetual control. Naturally enough, then, it has launched a consistent
campaign to replace the copyright bargain with illusory notions of intellectual
"property". |
| |
| Mr. Berstein pleads, "Let's call illegal "file-sharing"
what it really is". Good idea. What is a good name for the sharing
of digital files that violates a legitimate copyright? Well, how about
"copyright infringement"? But that is not good enough for
Mr. Bernstein and the recording industry. Despite asking for "a
more accurate description," he offers instead "piracy",
as if the college kids downloading music wore eyepatches and cried "Arrgh!
Avast!" At least "file-sharing" is a technically correct
term, since that is precisely what happens from a networking point of
view. On the other hand, by no stretch of the imagination can one equate
"infringing a copyright" with "raping and pillaging on
the high seas". If anyone has yielded the linguistic high ground,
it is Mr. Bernstein and the Content Cartel. |
| |
I regret that Mr. Bernstein suffered a financial reversal. But nobody
wept for the buggy-whip makers. Intellectual "property" is
to property as fool's gold is to gold... It's time we jettison this
ill-conceived concept.
With respect, |
| |
With respect,
-=-Bernard HP Gilroy |
