Copyright Alliance formed by companies

[Andrew]

I've said it before and will say it again:  copyright is broken.  Oddly, this new "alliance" is looking to give copyright owners more rights.  If you ask me, what should be happening is a move in the other direction.

Article:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070518-new-copyright-alliance-hopes-to-strengthen-copyright-law.html

Slashdot discussion:
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/05/25/1255202.shtml

And this is the reading section of the new alliance's website.  Quite a bit of this should worry you:
http://www.copyrightalliance.org/documentsandresearch

[trekgeezer]

Slashdot also had a post this week about the RIAA and some artists groups trying to get the law repealed that allows radio stations to play music without paying royalties.


http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-fi-radio21may21,1,1028211.story?coll=la-headlines-business-enter&ctrack=2&cset=true

[DodgingGrunge]

I wouldn't find this all so troubling if their arguments were not so absurd.  The Copyright Alliance in particular prances around with the ideals of Laissez-faire on their pamphlets and in their soundbites , but their entire purpose is to increase the government's role in regulating their industry.  A bit of a contradiction, no?  I'd stop consuming if I thought it would get the message across.  But they'd just cite my absence as an increase in piracy.  Speaking of which, since when are an industry's goods or services guaranteed success?  How can they blame failure unequivocally on the consumer?  Where is the corporate accountability to meet their clients' demand? 

[Andrew]

Copyright is intended as a limited protection to encourage the creation of artistic works.  Quite honestly, it was plenty long before Sonny Bono became a martyr (by stupidly hitting a tree) for the industry.

Society benefits the most when something becomes public domain.  The reason that a limited "this is yours" period is needed is so that creating a work is a profitable endeavour and people will take the time and effort to create things.

Man, I would love to hear Thomas Jefferson actually speak about our current situation.  Maybe then people would listen.