View Single Post
Old 07-09-2009, 08:16 AM   #4
Kali Yuga
Professional Contrarian
Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Kali Yuga ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Kali Yuga's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,045
Karma: 3289631
Join Date: Mar 2009
Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie
While I agree that there are instances of excesses in copyright law (e.g. copyright periods too long, enforcement too aggressive), I don't find much merit in his position.

The idea that governments are planning to inspect email or other one-to-one sharing for copyrighted material is slightly absurd. Sadly, anti-terrorism efforts are the not only more likely, but actual existing reason for additional government scrutiny. It's a straw man argument.

In addition, even Linux benefits from some of the concepts inherent in copyright law. E.g. if I release Linux code under the GPL, I may be explicitly allowing users full access to the code, as well as the ability to modify and redistribute that code. However, I am still relying on the ability to require those subsequent modifications to be open and redistributed.

And naturally, Engstrom makes no provisions for paying the creators of the "cultural heritage." There won't be much culture left, if the artists cannot survive while making it. Nor did I ever see any indication that The Pirate Bay distributed so much as one thin dime to the artists whose work it helped distribute in violation of copyright law without permission.

I agree that civil rights should be protected. But enforcement of copyright laws is not, and if enforced properly should not, be a civil rights issue.
Kali Yuga is offline   Reply With Quote