Quote:
Originally Posted by Giggleton
Going to a museum and copying a painting, or sharing a book with a friend were definitely things that the framers considered fine and dandy.
|
Benjamin Franklin, who earned money pirating books, attended the constitutional convention. Does this count as framing?
To give the devil his due, Franklin did agree to a constitution than anticipated there being a copyright law enacted.
Most likely, some framers were generous with loaning books and some were not. One thing about loaning paper books is that the quality of the book declines a bit every time it is read. As a result, a lot of people prefer new to old. As an indirect result of this quality decline, a used market for lesser quality paper books helps support a higher-priced market for pristine new books. Unless someone invents a way to slightly damage the eBook each time it is copied, a used eBook market cannot fulfill this role and will hurt creators.
Getting back to your post, the first US art museum (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts) held it's first exhibition in 1811. There were still some framers alive at this time. Where did you get the idea that any of them were OK with the free copying?
Perhaps tuition-paying academy students could copy.