[Upd-discuss] Copyright has no purpose

[Sigmascape1@cs.com]

Over the past few years, it really seems like things have gotten worse.

MLF



michael.davis@law.csuohio.edu wrote:

>The people at WIPO are not known for their competence and it is often
>staffed by lower-level practitioners whose training and education leave a
>lot to be desired. U.S., UK, and Continental legal systems all recognize
>expressly the larger purpose of so-called IP law, and although they vary
>somewhat, the public interest plays a central role in all of them,
>although the decisive role it plays in US law is perhaps somewhat
>distinctive. Any law graduate in either US or Europe would be completely
>familiar with this, unless they were very poor students indeed or, and
>this is quite possible, they pursued no study of so-called IP while in law
>school. It is not a required course in any system with which I am
>familiar.
>
>I'm afraid knowing this doesn't change a terrible situation, but it makes
>it less surprising.
>
>Mickey
>
>
>> Are you, are any of us, surprised by this type of thought process, or lack
>> of thought process? Basically, what Ms Jones wants is for the 'owners' of
>> intellectual property to have perpetual control over copyrighted works. I
>> cannot speak for other countries, but I do feel that in the U.S., people
>> in general have no idea how bad things are and how bad things are about to
>> become in terms of the true reach of certain laws. It seems like every
>> time you turn around, another law that helps SELECT interests is being
>> batted around congress. In a very basic way, somehow, people have to be
>> made aware of the situation. The issues of extending copyright lengths and
>> making fair use almost non-existent are becoming more pronounced.
>>
>> Does it surprise me that the U.S. population seems to be letting this
>> happen? Of course not. Laws are passed all the time that people have no
>> idea about. At some point in the not-too-distant future, maybe my fellow
>> Americans will notice some things happening... maybe they can't record
>> that Major League Baseball game they wanted to see, maybe their TiVo tells
>> them that there are laws against preserving an old episode of Hill Street
>> Blues and simply deletes it, maybe their computers start relaying
>> application installation data to a central point where 'SELECT' companies
>> are able to see what you have installed, and if its 'legal.' Maybe then my
>> fellow Americans will understand how bad a 'SELECT' few organizations have
>> made it on them. They might then understand that this is just the way it
>> is, and to like it.
>>
>> MLF
>>
>>
>>
>> Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> wrote:
>>
>>>The UNCTAD Expert Meeting on Free and Open Source, which was held in
>>>Geneva in September 2004, was graced by a visit by Lucinda Jones,
>>>Senior Legal Officer of the copyright department of WIPO.  She made a
>>>most amazing statement:
>>>
>>>    Copyright does not have a purpose.
>>>
>>>Lest people misunderstand, I should explain that Ms Jones did not mean
>>>to say that copyright is pointless, or that the companies behind
>>>recent extensions of copyright power have no purpose in mind.  What
>>>she meant was that the public should not ask that copyright serve any
>>>particular purpose, and particularly not a purpose for the good of
>>>society.
>>>
>>>Ms Jones asks us to think of copyright as something that simply
>>>exists, the way earthquakes and hurricanes exist.  It is beyond
>>>question, so we are supposed to accept the restrictions of the
>>>copyright system--both the present ones, and the new ones that
>>>megacorporations regularly ask for--without question.
>>>
>>>In other words, WIPO says, "Don't ask us to justify copyright policy,
>>>just submit."
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>Upd-discuss mailing list
>>>Upd-discuss@lists.essential.org
>>>http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/upd-discuss
>>>
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>
>
>Mickey Davis
>_________________________________
>Prof. Michael H. Davis
>Professor of Law
>Cleveland State Univ. College of Law
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