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> “The Congress shall have power to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right
by vmception 5y ago
> “The Congress shall have power 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.”
I guess that part of the constitution doesn't require the Congress to do that
- munk-a 5y agoI don't agree with a full suspension of IP personally, but in response to that specific argument... If the common opinion is that the limited exclusivity window doesn't actually promote science and the useful arts then it wouldn't seem to actually mandate that that exclusivity window exists - or, if it must exist, it could be set to an arbitrarily short amount of time.
- blowski 5y agoIndeed. The constitution says "it has the power to set it" not that Congress shall set it. I think that's what the OP was saying anyway.
- kstrauser 5y agoI agree with this. I could argue that the current ridiculously long windows (like physical inventions being exclusive long after they're obsolete, or a short story outliving its authors' grandchildren) are unconstitutional in that they impede progress of science and useful arts.
- vmception 5y agoDamn, do you know any judge willing to take that stance without Congress rewriting itself? Just needs a trial judge and then an appellate group of judges to agree, and for no further appeal to happen