Re: benefits of the public domain and limited copyright terms?

On Mon, May 08, 2000, Robert Cumbow <rcumbow[_at_]grahamdunn.com> wrote:
>
> On Fri, May 05, 2000, Jon Noring <noring[_at_]netcom.com> wrote:
> >
> > On another mailing list a very pointed question was asked, the gist
> > of the question being "why is the Public Domain necessary -- what's
> > wrong with perpetual copyright terms?"
> >
> > I've argued many times before about the necessity of the Public Domain
> > and limited copyright terms. However, I'd like to ask the CNI-Copyright
> > experts this same question. I'm hoping to assemble a concise list of
> > reasoned answers. (I'm also hoping that there already exist documents
> > and online resources going into depth on this topic.)
> >
> > Depending on how the discussion progresses, I might take a Devil's
> > Advocate position and ask tough questions, so be forewarned.
> >
> > Btw, are there any copyright scholars who do not believe the Public
> > Domain is vital and/or who would have no difficulty with perpetual
> > copyright terms?
> >
> > I look forward to the discussion.
>
> Nothing is inherently "wrong" with perpetual copyright terms. There
> are, of course, policy pros and cons to such a system. In the United
> States, however, the public domain is necessary because copyright is
> permitted by our Constitution "for limited times" with the purpose of
> promoting science and the useful arts.
>
> Many other countries do not have such a policy underlying the grant
> of copyright. In such countries -- which recognize copyright as a
> "natural right" of the artist/author -- the only policy reason for
> having limited rather than perpetual terms of copyright ownership
> is to harmonize with other countries. I believe that copyright
> protection WAS regarded as perpetual in Germany for quite some time.

And indeed back in the mists of time in the United Kingdom common law copyright was indefinite before it was pre-empted by the Statute of Anne in ... take your pick between 1709 and 1710.

Peter Groves
<peter.groves[_at_]virgin.net> Received on Wed May 10 2000 - 12:13:55 GMT