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I defended copyright charges in a civil suit in the late nineties. I was already skeptical about it, and the combination of my skepticism and the case caused me
by cturner 16y ago
I defended copyright charges in a civil suit in the late nineties. I was already skeptical about it, and the combination of my skepticism and the case caused me to start to argue against it openly. It has been and is thrilling to see the debate continue to turn against the idea.
Ten years ago, the idea of questioning the justification of copyright was alien even to geeks and lawyers. People who copied lots themselves considered it to be cheeky, unjustified. The idea of questioning it hadn't thought about it, and wouldn't even raise the energy to consider that it might be worth questioning. The reaction to skepticism would always be that laugh that's reserved for contrarians, followed by a brief "doesn't compute" look and then a search for distraction.
Things are shifting.
- reedlaw 16y agoI think in the 80s and 90s the idea of questioning wasn't thought of much because it (copyright) wasn't thought of much. No one thought to much about copying cassette tapes or floppy disks (at least where I grew up).
- Derbasti 16y agoFunny thing, Germany does not have copyright. Instead, it has creator-right, which is very similar and usually compatible with copyright, but not exactly the same. The difference is that copyright gives rights to the copyright holder, which may or may not be the author. With creator-right ('Urheberrecht'), these rights are always bound to the author and can not be sold. I think this is interesting, because I would agree more with Urheberrecht than with copyright.