Re: Haworth Press Journals

> My understanding of the US Constitution with respect to Copyright is
> that it places specific limits on what Congress can and cannot legislate.
> Therefore, in constitutional terms, Congress cannot take "a view" that
> copyright is "purely a means to an end" without amending the constitution.
> Also, the US constitution as far as I read it means that copyright is not
> "property" but a limited monopoly allowed to authors, etc. Of course, what
> the constitution states and the reality of Congress' actions are as
> different in this case as in other areas.
>
> ------------------------------------
> * Mark Perkins, Librarian *
> * Rural Resources Management Group *
> * Overseas Development Institute *
> * London, UK *
> * INTERNET: odi[_at_]gn.apc.org *
> * TEL: (+44) 71 487 7611 *
> * FAX: (+44) 71 487 7590 *
> * TELEX: 94082191 ODI UK *
> ------------------------------------

This is not a helpful view. To be sure the copyright power is limited by the constitution but only in very general terms. Indeed the constitution makes copyright a means to an end "to promote the progress of science and the useful arts".

Harvey Perlman
University of Nebraska.
<hperlman[_at_]unlinfo.unl.edu> Received on Fri Apr 08 1994 - 01:43:25 GMT