Quote:
Originally Posted by bingle
But why? I don't think you've given a good reason for this statement. It's obviously something you believe very strongly. I'm not convinced, however.
Copyright protection exists for one reason only - to encourage the production of art for the good of society. There is no other reason to have the law - there is no universal right to have your creation protected from copying.
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But if people did not have that protection, most "creative" works would not exist, especially in fields like software writing. Most software is written as a commercial enterprise, not for the "good of society".
I am a professional software developer, and run my own business writing and selling software aimed at amateur astronomers. Copyright law is the only method whereby people like me are able to make a living. If anyone could legally duplicate and give away my software, I'd be out of a job, and my software would never have existed in the first place.
I strongly disagree with your suggestion that the "state" should pay me a salary to write software for the "good of society". That's not the way to encourage free enterprise. History shows that state-run businesses rarely prosper because they have no incentive to be innovative or profitable.
I'm not asking for anyone's help with my business, other than that the government has a legal framework in place to prevent other people from stealing my work. That legal framework is the copyright law.
Copyright law is absolutely essential if you want companies like mine to exist. No copyright protection = no creative works.