As an artist/writer I have direct concerns regarding copyright. Yes copyright SHOULD protect the creator of any work, in order for the producer to benefit from that work for a reasonable length of time. However, copyright (and patent) law is being perverted in the U.S. in order to protect the interests of major corporations at the expense of everyone else. The whole concept of "Fair Use" has been under attack, to the point that even legitimately innovative, let alone derivative or satiric works are threatened or even pre-emptively aborted because people are afraid that they'll be accused of copyright infringement. As often discussed here, most people don't have the deep pockets necessary to fight the fight, no matter how just their cause. This is having a major affect on innovation and creativity--which copyright (and patent) is supposed to protect. I'm even more concerned by the spread of Microsoft's "licensing" concept: It's becoming clear that corporations want to eliminate the whole concept of "owning" your purchases; instead you only pay to "borrow" it (at enormous profit to themselves) which severely restricts your rights--far beyond copyright (patent) protection. Hand in hand with copyright issues and the aggressive fight to interpret those protections so broadly, is the fact that these same corporations are becoming major monopolies, leaving the consumer high and dry while stifling innovation. This trend can only have a detrimental effect on the U.S. as a powerhouse of innovation and industry. Copyright (and patent) has it's place, but the courts need to consider the unintended consequences of the current trends which go far beyond the original intent.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Artistic1.
Re: Oh Tim
Anonymous Coward: By your own reasoning you just made a specific threat. Should you now be arrested as well?
Re:copyright use
As an artist/writer I have direct concerns regarding copyright. Yes copyright SHOULD protect the creator of any work, in order for the producer to benefit from that work for a reasonable length of time. However, copyright (and patent) law is being perverted in the U.S. in order to protect the interests of major corporations at the expense of everyone else. The whole concept of "Fair Use" has been under attack, to the point that even legitimately innovative, let alone derivative or satiric works are threatened or even pre-emptively aborted because people are afraid that they'll be accused of copyright infringement. As often discussed here, most people don't have the deep pockets necessary to fight the fight, no matter how just their cause. This is having a major affect on innovation and creativity--which copyright (and patent) is supposed to protect. I'm even more concerned by the spread of Microsoft's "licensing" concept: It's becoming clear that corporations want to eliminate the whole concept of "owning" your purchases; instead you only pay to "borrow" it (at enormous profit to themselves) which severely restricts your rights--far beyond copyright (patent) protection. Hand in hand with copyright issues and the aggressive fight to interpret those protections so broadly, is the fact that these same corporations are becoming major monopolies, leaving the consumer high and dry while stifling innovation. This trend can only have a detrimental effect on the U.S. as a powerhouse of innovation and industry. Copyright (and patent) has it's place, but the courts need to consider the unintended consequences of the current trends which go far beyond the original intent.