Arguments For And Against DRM

[ApK]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

It was "how can I ensure people create more things".

I disagree. Considering both the recurring wordings and especially the contexts (law, the US Constitution, etc) it was:
"How can I ensure people create more things FOR THE BETTERMENT OF SOCIETY."
(Or "FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD" if you prefer).

Point is, these are public laws, and documents concerned with forming a more perfect union, promoting the general welfare, securing the blessings of liberty to our posterity, etc.

It's not a matter of just creation for it's own sake, nor for individual gain.

What we call the Public Domain is merely the name we give to the simplest and, as was said above, natural state of published knowledge that meets that purpose.

ApK

[dickloraine]

This article is in unfortunately in german: http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/a-709761.html
But it is about an historian, who believes that much of the german success in the 19th century results from the fact, that there was no copyright in germany. Books where cheap and plenty. For reference: in england around 1000 books were published per year, in germany 14000. Much of this was "self-published" and of practical nature. Authors had to be fast in producing books, as they were copied and had a only a short phase of exclusivity.

I am not sure, how much of this effect is because of no copyright or if the low prices would be sufficient. So maybe it is more similar to the current self-publishing and the spread of information through the internet. But it shows, that there needs to be a balance.

By the way did the usa something very similar. Works with american copyrights were protected, but books from other countries weren't.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

But as far as the original intent goes, in order to promulgate the spread of art, no PD is needed.

But it is. Almost everything is based in part on what has come before.

If nothing is PD, then all derivitive work, which is pretty much all work, has to be licensed. So in effect, all work has to get approved by the censors^H^H^H^H^H^H^H rights holders.

Also the young and poor just getting started are heavily represented among the most creative.