Napster Away!
Harry Hillman Chartrand
CONGRESS TO THE RESCUE ON DIGITAL COPYRIGHT ISSUES?
"But Recording Industry Association of America president Hilary B. Rosen
thinks that Congress should stay out of the fray and that "I have a hard
time believing this is going to get resolved anywhere but in the
marketplace." (New York Times 2 Oct 2000) "
I'm sorry but the only reason a market for copyrighted works exists in the
first place is because government says 'there is a market'. There are no
locks and keys like cars and houses. Copyright only exists, and hence a
market for copyrighted works exists, only due to government fiat. It is hard
for neocons and other 'marketeers' to realize that government doesn't just
'regulate', it also 'creates' markets. In the new economy it is critical for
all players to understand this basic market fact.
For an industry spokesperson to talk about the Napster issue being resolved
by the marketplace amounts to letting the fox (large copyright proprietors)
guard the henhouse. Guess what, the chickens (small users) will get eaten by
corporate lawyers.
With best wishes, I remain
Yours truly,
Harry Hillman Chartrand
Cultural Economist & Publisher
Compiler Press
compile...@home.com
Compiler Press - Intellectual Property in the Global Village:
http://members.home.net/compilerpress1
Compleat World Copyright Website
http://www.compilerpress.atfreeweb.com
Cultural Economics: The Collected Works of HHC
http://www.culturaleconomics.atfreeweb.com
Elemental Economics
http://members.home.net/h-chartrand1
World Cultural Intelligence Network:
http://members.home.net/h-chartrand/
AW
spurred me to respond. In this latest comment you have laid the issue out
neatly. The US and other governments created copyright laws. The copyright
laws in turn added to the natural incentive a writer has to write. Adding
economic benefits. Allowing the writer to write for a living and not only
for passion. The same now holds true for the Musician and the Artist. In
your comments it becomes clear that you do not believe that these rights are
a good thing. It is also clear that you do not believe in the Free Market
as a viable system. I understand and respect your opinions. Some of us
believe in the free market and some do not. My prior suspicions are
confirmed regarding your political leanings. I think if you had any doubt
as to mine they should be cleared up here as well.
I wish you well in your quest for what is right. Although I do hope you
someday learn to see things my way (the right way - such arrogance I have,
eh?) I do admire you for at least having an opinion and caring enough to let
others know what you believe.
By the way, how have you been? I am well myself and my family is well also.
Harry Hillman Chartrand <h-cha...@home.com> wrote in message
news:SBcC5.10270$26.8...@news1.sshe1.sk.home.com...
Harry Hillman Chartrand
rights of copyright proprietors, the rights of corporations based on
usurpation of creators' rights is a wrong. It was a wrong that Thomas
Jefferson recognized when he initially opposed copyright. He opposed it not
because it provided a reward to creators but because of fear it would foster
monopoly by corporate entities such as the Stationer's Company in England.
In my view, Jefferson's greatest fears have been realized.
Please understand I believe sincerely in creator's rights. I do not believe
in how they have been twisted to corporate purpose - the legal foundation
for the industrial organization of corporate empires. Yes, creators should
be able to market their rights, yes corporations should be able to buy and
sell 'some' of them - but not all. The twisted situation of pop musicians
and the recording industry whereby the corporation assumes all rights and
never returns them to the artists (a normal industrial practice) is but one
example.
My efforts are dedicated to improving the economic and social condition of
creators. If this means taking on corporate empires then so be it; if it
means pushing history in the face of complacent contemporaries then so be
it.
If we are truly entering a 'knowledge-based economy' then an new bill of
economic rights for creators is necessary. Revision of copyright in the
image of the European Civil Code tradition including moral rights is the
best, to my mind, basis for the next revolution. It is time to complete the
American Revolution; it is time to tear down the corporate monopolists who
like parasites have fed and are feeding off the efforts of creators; it is
time to recognize the individual, flesh and blood creator as the inherent,
inalienable source of intellectual creation; it is time to make the creative
life for the many financially viable.