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Let us consider a world where all copyrights were enforced to the letter in every instance. This is a world mostly imprisoned, or ruined by debt. Let us furthe

by sethrin 14y ago

Let us consider a world where all copyrights were enforced to the letter in every instance. This is a world mostly imprisoned, or ruined by debt. Let us further consider a world where 10% of all copyrights were enforced. The world may be less incarcerated, but I doubt it. The world we inhabit has in all likelihood an enforcement rate of less than one in one billion, and violators include most of the population. You have made a logical error in oversimplifying the argument at hand. Either extreme of enforcement is absurd. It is to no one's benefit to have laws which may be routinely violated, often unknowingly, by the overwhelming majority of the population. That being the case with copyright means not that people are a problem, or the technology is doing something other than what it was built for, but that we are trying to criminalize something that is fundamental to the functions of both. You may well argue for the necessity of law, but please instead argue for the necessity of this law. It is abundantly clear that the law as written is as effective as criminalizing flatulence, or the encroaching tide. One hopes that in those events you will not feel called upon to make the same argument.

dredmorbius 14y ago
> Let us consider a world where all copyrights were enforced > to the letter in every instance. This is a world mostly imprisoned, > or ruined by debt. You could say this of virtually any law. Under your construction, the current president of the United States would be in prison on drugs charges, the former president for desertion, and the former president's wife for vehicular homicide. Law (and its enforcement) are inherently discretionary. Appropriate use of that discretion is key to a well-functioning society. There is a great deal that's wrong with the present copyright scheme. A rational scheme, with much shorter terms of copyright, very brief corporate assignments (after which terms revert to authors), mandatory registration for copyright extended beyond a de minimus period (3-7 years or so), ample and clear exemptions for various fair use (personal, educational, creative, remix, adaptation), and an escalating fee schedule for additional extensions, would help greatly. While digital capabilities make copyright violation much easier, they also make detection and correction of significant violations much easier (too easy, according to many).
- sethrin 14y ago
  >You could say this of virtually any law. The topic at hand is a particular law, however. I'm glad that you agree that mindless enforcement is bad. Show that there is a subset of copyright that is practical to enforce on the internet. At the risk of repeating myself, I do not believe that such is practical, and the scale of the violation is easily on par with (e.g.) an attempt to criminalize normal bodily functions. There is no good outcome when laws are routinely and unknowingly violated. You are ducking the hard questions, and focusing on the legal niceties. You should also make an argument as to why a law that would punish all citizens if fully enforced, should not be considered a bad law.
  - dredmorbius 14y ago
    DMCA takedown notices in the event of an infringement. For someone attempting major commercial exploitation of copyrighted materials, there's virtually always an entity which can be reached by injunction, subpoena, or legal action. Filesharing (a noncommercial exploitation of copyrighted works) is harder to track down, but more overt forms of sharing generally can be identified. Remember: both the copyright enforcer and the copyright infringer need to identify and access the infringed work. The same actions which make it harder for the copyright enforcer to identify infringing uses make it harder for infringers to infringe. Not impossible, but difficult. There are many cases of plagiarism and content stealing, yes. But for the most part, once detected, these can be shut down. Tracking content theft from a developed country to a less developed one may be difficult (technically and legally), but it's also a relatively small economic loss. What did you have in mind?

by sethrin 14y ago

dredmorbius 14y ago

> Let us consider a world where all copyrights were enforced > to the letter in every instance. This is a world mostly imprisoned, > or ruined by debt. You could say this of virtually any law. Under your construction, the current president of the United States would be in prison on drugs charges, the former president for desertion, and the former president's wife for vehicular homicide. Law (and its enforcement) are inherently discretionary. Appropriate use of that discretion is key to a well-functioning society. There is a great deal that's wrong with the present copyright scheme. A rational scheme, with much shorter terms of copyright, very brief corporate assignments (after which terms revert to authors), mandatory registration for copyright extended beyond a de minimus period (3-7 years or so), ample and clear exemptions for various fair use (personal, educational, creative, remix, adaptation), and an escalating fee schedule for additional extensions, would help greatly. While digital capabilities make copyright violation much easier, they also make detection and correction of significant violations much easier (too easy, according to many).

sethrin 14y ago
>You could say this of virtually any law. The topic at hand is a particular law, however. I'm glad that you agree that mindless enforcement is bad. Show that there is a subset of copyright that is practical to enforce on the internet. At the risk of repeating myself, I do not believe that such is practical, and the scale of the violation is easily on par with (e.g.) an attempt to criminalize normal bodily functions. There is no good outcome when laws are routinely and unknowingly violated. You are ducking the hard questions, and focusing on the legal niceties. You should also make an argument as to why a law that would punish all citizens if fully enforced, should not be considered a bad law.
- dredmorbius 14y ago
  DMCA takedown notices in the event of an infringement. For someone attempting major commercial exploitation of copyrighted materials, there's virtually always an entity which can be reached by injunction, subpoena, or legal action. Filesharing (a noncommercial exploitation of copyrighted works) is harder to track down, but more overt forms of sharing generally can be identified. Remember: both the copyright enforcer and the copyright infringer need to identify and access the infringed work. The same actions which make it harder for the copyright enforcer to identify infringing uses make it harder for infringers to infringe. Not impossible, but difficult. There are many cases of plagiarism and content stealing, yes. But for the most part, once detected, these can be shut down. Tracking content theft from a developed country to a less developed one may be difficult (technically and legally), but it's also a relatively small economic loss. What did you have in mind?