[Upd-discuss] Re: public domain description

[Michael Hart]

On Mon, 24 Oct 2005, Brewster Kneen wrote:

> The more I/we delve into it, the more complex the public domain becomes. We 
> are now distinguishing between commons, public domain, and state, and each of 
> these is complex. But such is the challenge of working within the dominant 
> monoculture and the simplistic dichotomy between private (individual) and 
> public (state).  Please visit www.forumonpublicdomain.ca

You would think that "working within the dominant monoculture" would simplify
things rather then make them mostly complex, unless the systems were DESIGNED
to be complex, rather simply to baffle the public.

mh

>
>
>
>> Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 16:55:20 +0200
>> From: Stark <mail@glenstark.org>
>> To: upd-discuss@lists.essential.org
>> Subject: [Upd-discuss] the upd website
>> 
>> Hi everyone.
>> 
>> Being perhaps one of the more poorly informed people on this list I
>> mostly keep my mouth shut, and sound off to my friends and colleagues
>> who are even more poorly informed than I am.   My impression is that
>> most people in the real world and in the academic world don't even think
>> about these issues, and I'm always trying to get people to get a little
>> interested in what's going around them, in particular with regard to
>> patent  and copyright law.    For instance, being in Europe, I was able
>> to get a few people here in the office to contact their MP about
>> European software patents.
>> 
>> But when it comes to the war against the public domain I find it
>> difficult to point people to an intelligent, cohesive source that sums
>> up the isuues (the best I can do is Lessig's book Free Culture, but I'm
>> afraid most people won't read the whole thing).  Can we depart from our
>> People Liberation front of Judea imitations long enough to come up with
>> a mission statement to put on the upd website?  Perhaps it could be a
>> very simple paragraph at the top of the site saying something to the
>> effect of "The public domain refers is the wealth of cultural tradition
>> from which all literature, art, music an science draws from.  This
>> resource is under assault from various forces which are destroying the
>> ability of people to create and share culture through mechanisms such
>> the insance prolongation of copyright law, innapropriate extensions of
>> the patent system and abuse of trademark law.  The UPD exists to protect
>> and expand the public domain, and to raise public awareness of the
>> plundering of our culture.  For more information, please consider the
>> following links: ... "
>> 
>> Okay, so probably everyone has some suggestions/modifications they might
>> like to make this bit of boilerplate I have included only to illustrate
>> what I would like to see.  Maybe someone can write something a bit more
>> precise or eloquent?    But I think it would be nice to be able to link
>> to public-domain.org and know that people who have thus far only been
>> indoctrinated by the copyright owners agenda will find a bit of a
>> roadmap on the issue.
>> 
>> What does everyone think?
>> 
>
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