Quote:
Originally Posted by exaltedwombat
If the material isn't the author's property, it sure as hell isn't YOURS! If there's profit to be had from it, how can you argue that YOU should make it?
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I now know how Sisyphus felt, pushing his rock up hill forever.
I agree with you though, it isn't my property to use, but it isn't the author's either because copyright isn't a property right at all. It's a creation of statute to encourage authors to produce more works. The rights of members of society are limited to give authors a time-limited monopoly over works they produce, but that monopoly doesn't last forever.
No one is arguing that copyright is a bad thing in particular, but they are arguing that trying to equate IP to property is a gross oversimplification that isn't supported in the law or historically. This also means that trying to justify a copyright that lasts until the heat-death of the universe makes no sense.