Re: Donaldson v. Becket

On Sun, 20 Feb 2000, Timothy Phillips <hrothgar[_at_]telepath.com> wrote:
>
> Tuesday, February 22 2000, is the 226th anniversary of the decision
> by the English House of Lords in Donaldson v. Becket, 17 Parl. Hist.
> Eng. 953 (1774) in which the lords, by twenty-two votes to eleven,
> dissolved an injunction against Alexander Donaldson, thereby laying
> down the law that copyright in published works was not perpetual,
> but was limited to the term provided by statute. ...

Thank you for the reminder. It would be nice to have a daily almanac of the events that are pro-public domain and that depict the evil of monopolistic powers. I once thought of printing a daily calendar pad but it never materializes.

> In our days, when the public domain's cultured despisers hold the
> public domain up to ridicule and contempt, I find it inspiring to
> remember freedom's past victories. Doing so gives me hope, even
> in the present dark hour, that truth and freedom may yet prevail.

Hope!? Is there a hope? I have a hope that the freedom of copy (on which public domain is based) will be restored as completely as possible someday. But, the hope is constrained by the uncertainty of when it will happen. I feel like Habakkuk who was exasperated by the continual success of injustice. Is there really a genuine hope?

Joseph Pietro Riolo
<riolo[_at_]voicenet.com> Received on Mon Feb 21 2000 - 14:45:48 GMT