Re: copyright and natural law?

Joseph P. Riolo <riolo[_at_]voicenet.com> wrote:
>
> On Sat, 12 Sep 1998, Albert Henderson <noblestation[_at_]compuserve.com> wrote:
> >
> > My copy of the US Constitution uses the word "secure," not "grant."
> > Let me quote, "The Congress shall have the power ... To promote the
> > progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times
> > to authors and investors the exclusive right to their respective
> > writings and discoveries;"
> >
> > Where did this "grant" idea come from? I would be interested to know
> > where we went wrong.
>
> The court decision _Wheaton and Donaldson v. Peters and Grigg_
> (8 Peters 591) has a lengthy argument by the lawyers for Wheaton
> and Donaldson precisely on the same topic. But, the Supreme Court
> thought otherwise.
>
> Justice M'Lean in _Wheaton and Donaldson v. Peters and Grigg_ (8 Peters
> 591) wrote on page 660-661:

What is the date of this decision?

> P.S. For whatever it's worth, I have a copy of the above court
> decision on-line but I have to go through three more steps (make
> corrections, final proofread, and modify for web page) before
> I can put it on my web site. If anyone is ever interested in
> unfinished copy of the decision, send me a private e-mail and
> specify whether you want it in the HTML format or just plain
> ASCII format. This offer is limited only to those who are in
> the U.S. and live in the same country (that is, residents of U.S.).

Why this restriction? I thought this is a world wide discussion list? Are there any frontiers in cyberspace?

Moritz Roettinger
<moritz.roettinger[_at_]dg23.cec.be> Received on Tue Sep 15 1998 - 16:43:00 GMT