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Old 09-22-2009, 02:29 PM   #34
Elfwreck
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Morrigan View Post
Thank you to everyone who answered my questions... but i still honestly do not get it... I understand your reaoning, but it still makes no sense to me.

A book is nore than and idea... it is the product of someone's labor... I just not see how anyone is entitled to that.
You are entitled the the products of Shakespeare's labor, are you not? Why shouldn't his heirs have the right to continue making money from his plays--they're certainly popular enough?

You are entitled to the products of the labor of the US Supreme Court, when they publish a ruling, as well. (US Government publications are all in the public domain.)

Authors (and other creators) are allowed a short-term monopoly on the use of their works, with the expectation that those works eventually become part of the public domain--the rich history of information and lore on which we build our culture. That "short-term" monopoly used to be 28 or 56 years in the US, plenty of time to make profit. It's now life-plus-70 years, which can be much, much longer--but is still limited.

Also, the monopoly is limited. A certain amount of fair use is permitted. Exactly how much that covers is not defined anywhere, and is decided on a case-by-case basis.

Nobody here, AFAIK, is arguing that copyright law should not exist. But many argue that it lasts too long to be useful for its intended purpose, and many argue that acceptable fair use is broader than what many authors and publishers believe.
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