| I know it's popular to hate lawyers here but enough is enough=> Entertainment Industry Lawyer: The Public Domain Goes Against Free Market Capitalism Copyright is not bad. It has gotten out of hand, but the principle is good. Limited (again, it isn't really anymore, but it should be) protection. Just like if you built a car, created a drug, or manufactured any other widget and someone stole it after you expended the time and effort or production (yes, I know this example has flaws; sweat of the brow etc.) Lawyers also are not universally bad. Though I agree with you there are many I cannot stand. There are dirty cops, crooked politicians, cheating mechanics, lazy doctors and stuck up IT guys and yes, even annoying hackers. You want to bash copyright, fine. You want to bash lawyers, fine. Just don't make blanket statements. A lot of us are on your side. Lawyer for the entertainment industry != copyright lawyer. In my best Han Solo, "sorry about the mess." |
You could start your re-examination with "Against Intellectual Monopoly", http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/general/intellectual/against.h... especially chapter 6.
Personally, it appears to me that a combination of regulatory capture and legislative capture has enabled a few large corporations to define "intellectual property" in such a way that what used to be accepted as inalienable rights of US citizens are widely suppressed. And that's going way, way too far.