Why public domain

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Death ends marriage, it can end copyright too.

Anything's possible with a law.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Anything's possible with a law.

Yes, we're still waiting on a good reason for copyright to be eternal to change the law.

Thus far the arguments in that favor are as follows

1) I wrote it it's mine!

Which is easily rebutted with, copyright expires posthumously by a not insignificant amount of time, generally the life span of another person born the day you die. As it isn't property, we should not treat it as property.

2) It's only not the law because it's not the law

Yes, this is what you're trying to change. It is not the reason for a change to happen. There are a great many things there are laws against which people would argue shouldn't be against the law. Just because they wish it so does not mean it's a good idea.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

And this exists because it's been written into law. Guess what? Laws can be changed.

Unless you are a Congressional Staffer and can slide something into the body of a bill without telling anyone, you still have to convince people that it's a good idea to change the law. That's going to require something a bit more substantial than Because I say so.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Yes, we're still waiting on a good reason for copyright to be eternal to change the law.

Thus far the arguments in that favor are as follows

1) I wrote it it's mine!

Which is easily rebutted with, copyright expires posthumously by a not insignificant amount of time, generally the life span of another person born the day you die. As it isn't property, we should not treat it as property.

Copyright expires because there are laws making it so.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Unless you are a Congressional Staffer and can slide something into the body of a bill without telling anyone, you still have to convince people that it's a good idea to change the law. That's going to require something a bit more substantial than Because I say so.

It won't happen until people change their stance on what property is. Until then, we have our current system. It's not necessarily right, it's just legal.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Copyright expires because there are laws making it so.

Yep and for reasons explained throughout this thread those laws shouldn’t change. You haven’t presented anything approaching an argument to change that other than “because I said so”

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Yep and for reasons explained throughout this thread those laws shouldn’t change. You haven’t presented anything approaching an argument to change that other than “because I said so”

What more do I need other than "I created it"?

[PKFFW]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I did.

I wrote the book, it's mine. That simple. I'm the one who should determine what becomes of it, not society. It does not expire unless I abandon it.

Okay cool.

Of course it is only society that says I am not allowed to make copies and sell them so as you don't think society should have any say in what becomes of it I assume you are ok with me doing so?

[DuckieTigger]

Here is the fundamental flaw why intellectual property is not property that can be owned. You can have it, and once you have it you own it, because it is stored as an idea inside your brain. So far so good, it is yours in every way imaginable. Now if you share that idea with someone else, then they have it. It is inside their head, they own their own personal instance. That instance they own, you don't own it, because you don't have it inside your head. How do we share a thought or an idea? We write down instructions on how to infuse that idea into someone's brain. The instructions are written down in a book. If you follow the instructions by reading them, you will infuse your brain with your own idea inside your head, similar to the original. What copyright gives you is a monopoly on exploiting those specific instructions.

So what exactly do you own? The IP itself you don't own, everybody that read the book now has it, owns it. The instructions itself printed in a book you don't own, because you sold those instructions. The only thing that you got left is being marked as the creator of those instructions to have first published them. And laws give you the exclusive rights to exploit them.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by PKFFW

Okay cool.

Of course it is only society that says I am not allowed to make copies and sell them so as you don't think society should have any say in what becomes of it I assume you are ok with me doing so?

I expect society to protect my property rights just like they protect the property rights for my car. Theft is theft.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I expect society to protect my property rights just like they protect the property rights for my car. Theft is theft.

Only because it's the law.

Fine though, you own the IP, but since copyright isn't property, and it's the copyright which prevents the IP from being used by others, well....

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Only because it's the law.

Exactly

[PKFFW]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I expect society to protect my property rights just like they protect the property rights for my car. Theft is theft.

I agree, we should make sure no one steals your intellectual property.

Good thing I didn't suggest stealing your property. I suggested copying your property and selling copies.

I'm sure you're all good with that since your intellectual property rights have been protected in just the same way as your property rights.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by PKFFW

I agree, we should make sure no one steals your intellectual property.

Good thing I didn't suggest stealing your property. I suggested copying your property and selling copies.

I'm sure you're all good with that since your intellectual property rights have been protected in just the same way as your property rights.

But that is theft and the perpetrator should be prosecuted.

[MarjaE]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Copyright expires because there are laws making it so.

Copymight only exists because there are laws making it so.

But that is theft and the perpetrator should be prosecuted.

It is copying. With theft, you lose yours. With this, you lose potential profits, which is different.

Now these potential profits are one way to compensate people for creating new works. And as long as people need money, it's important to have some way to compensate people. I'm not sure it's the best way, but a short-term monopoly would cause less harm than the current long-term ones or perpetual ones.