3 ms·
The Constitution specifically authorizes federal copyright laws. "To Promote the Progress of Science and Useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors a
by andylei 15y ago
The Constitution specifically authorizes federal copyright laws. "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."
- akavi 15y agoThe current state of copyright law is far more a transgression against the bit about "securing for a limited Time" than against the 1st amendment.
- gnosis 15y agoThere are many problems with copyright, but the ones a "constitutional originalist" should take issue with from that quote are that: First, inventors and authors frequently aren't the ones who hold exclusive rights to their writings and discoveries under copyright law, as their rights are often signed over to others; and these rights are often continued to be held even after the authors and inventors die. Second, there weren't any movies or videos or even recordings back when the US Constitution was written, so their writings couldn't possibly directly apply to these media. It takes interpretation on the parts of these supposed "constitutional originalist" justices to decree that these new media do in fact fall under copyright law.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- cabalamat 15y agoAn amendment, by definition, amends the thing it is an amendment to. So if the 1st amendment disagrees with the original constitution, the amendment over-rules it.