I’m Just John Q. Public | Linux Magazine

Representatives of a number of major content providers — albeit not the movie or music industry — recently got together and asked their trade association to do more to stem the tide of public persuasion and public action that they believe is undermining the copyright law in the U.S. According to these representatives, a number of well-known law professors who don’t believe in copyright have had their way with the public and Congress and are rolling back the coverage of the United States Copyright Act. According to this group, it’s time for the other side of the story to be told.

This leaves me dumbstruck.

When asked who these law professors are, names like Lessig, Boyle, Samuelson, and Benkler are mentioned. Yet one has to ask, which of these law professors doesn’t believe in the Copyright Act, since none of them have written any such treatise? One has to ask, exactly what legislation have the scholars successfully pushed through Congress? One has to ask, exactly what court cases have these individuals won that have narrowed the scope of copyright?

While each of these professors is an ardent believer in fair use and the public domain, and while each has expressed concern over the direction of copyright legislation and interpretation, none have ever advocated abolishing the Copyright Act. To the contrary, each, along with organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org/), has only attempted to stem the tide of ever more aggressive copyright legislation sought by various…

Please log in to view this content.

Not Yet a Member?

Register with LinuxMagazine.com and get free access to the entire archive, including:

Hands-on Content
White Papers
Community Features
And more.

Already a Member?
Log in!

Forgotten your password?
Forgotten your username?

I'm Just John Q. Public