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Originally Posted by pietrocrazy
You definitely make a good point about possible public backlash. I just tend to be a little more cynical; I expect that people would be really upset for a while and then forget it like they do so many other things. But I don't think it would ever even come to a lawsuit, because, like you said, there are so many other pressures in place to prevent it from ever becoming necessary.
I admire your idealism. Unfortunately, common sense doesn't stop lawsuits. |
I also tend to be a little cynical, but most major companies like to stay under the radar when it comes to bad publicity. Most of the time people ignore big issues, or are apathetic. People also tend to have short memories, but if a company or industry is repeatedly generating bad publicity it could damage their reputation and hence profits in the long term. Additionally, it would provide ammunition for proponents of copyright reform.
Then again, hundreds of academics and economists, from conservative economists like Milton Friedman to liberal economists like Joseph Stiglitz, came out against the Sonny-Bonno Copyright Extension Act, and nobody cared. Hundreds of editorials were written decrying the act in major newspapers and nobody cared. So maybe you are right.