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Originally Posted by BWinmill
I suspect it's because the guilty parties see things in absolute terms.[...]
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I don't think that's true. Some of the arguments come out sounding that way, when taken out of context of the entire discussion, because the debate ranges from point to point. For example when someone suggests that there is significant work involved in creating a work, the argument is really one to show that the copyright is not a money-for-nothing offering, but taken out of context its purported to show that all authors expect to receive such money. And from the other side, when someone suggests a value in the public domain, it's taken as suggesting that everyone wants everything for free. In each case it is not the original point that is argued as an absolute, it is the slant put on it by the opposing view. Even RSE, who finds the privileges of copyright "repugnant", is found saying that 56 years is adequate - which seems to suggest some acceptance that copyright is useful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BWinmill
[...]Now I know that the public domain is different. The public domain involves taking something that is owned and making it into something that is not owned. Unfortunately, it's something that we need to do if we want a literary public domain since writing doesn't exist until it is authored.
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If I'm reading that right, I think it makes an important point. Public domain does have a value and purpose, though it may be hard to define, but part of its value feeds off the value created by copyright. How many people would care about "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" if "Pride and Prejudice" had never been published? So we have to trade off how important it is that we have enough incentive for someone to create "Harry Potter ...", against how important it is that we see "Harry Potter the Zombies" any time soon. (The examples are, or may sound, a little facetious, but that's mainly because the value of the public domain is difficult to define, but I don't deny it exists - I only place my own priorities on its value, and those weigh toward wanting to encourage more original work.)