TheGreg wrote:fireproof78 wrote:The idea that ideas are owned by the public at large strikes me as ultimately a justification rather than a basis in reality. Ideas belong to individuals as those ideas would not exist without an individual making the time and effort to create it. That is where I see the our paths diverging. U.S. copyright law did not originate as the government's attempt to intervene and control the outflow of ideas-it was designed to protect creators from people who would copy their work and thus cheapen the work produced.
This is absolutely not true. The purpose of US Copyright Law is spelled out in the constitution. Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution says: "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." The purpose is NOT to protect creators, but to promote the progress of science and the useful arts.
Outwith this intervention from the US legal system, there is no exclusive right to their writings and discoveries. Additionally after this limited period their temporary right expires, and the public has a general right to the material.
fireproof78 wrote:I believe that you and will never agree that ideas can be owned. I believe they can-you believe they can't.
Right, and yet it's not just MY opinion, it is the opinion of the US legal system, from the Constitution and the Supreme Court. I guess it's your right to disagree with the law, and lobby to change it, but you have to recognize that it is the law.
I'd also refer you to the thought experiment about Frankenstein above if you're having trouble getting your head around why intangible goods can't be owned.
Its not that I can't get my head around it-I just don't agree with it, nor do I have to.
And, I am curious as to why the Constitution limits, even for a time, the Right to their respective writings and discoveries if the only purpose to promote science and knowledge? I mean, if we are just trying to promote the arts and sciences, then there should be no right at all to the knowledge of the creators. Just a thought.
In addition, I was not aware that we were suddenly splitting hairs about copyright law. I thought we were discussing the creator's relationship to their creation, and whether or not they own it. But, I guess that falls in to the scope of the law so I guess this is now the topic of the debate.
The fact that the digital age is forcing this debate illustrates this point, but I am not the only one who thinks this is a new battlefield:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/02/techn … wanted=all
Of other note, copyright law is not the only law applicable. Patent law does allow the protection of scientific discoveries and ideas, so patent law must also be considered.
It is interesting to me that the idea of ideas is simply regarded as a public good when they are distributed. The value of those ideas are never discussed, and copyright law only allows those ideas to be protected to encourage publishers to publish for the sake of public work. Well, the fact that the law agrees with you, does not mean that the law is correct.
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