Re: Copyright Extension Bill Passes Congress

On 28 Oct 1998, Joseph P. Riolo <riolo[_at_]voicenet.com> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 26 Oct 1998, Albert Henderson <noblestation[_at_]compuserve.com> wrote:
> >
> > Obviously, such publishers rarely paid royalties to authors for
> > public domain works. It seems to me a pity that the heirs of
> > Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Melville, etc. and modern writers have
> > been treated less respect than homesteaders whose property rights
> > were were better protected even from earliest times.
>
> Once again, I think it is very improper of you not to recognize
> the importance of the freedom to copy. These writers could not
> exist if they were not allowed to copy anything from anyone.
> In fact, these old writers had more freedom to copy than in our
> times. We are blessed to read their works because people in
> the past used the freedom to copy, as embodied in the public
> domain, and thus, were able to propagate the old works.

These fellows were noted for their originality of expression, not copying. They certainly did not engage in the uninhibited sort of behavior observed near the Xerox 914 and its offspring.

I would be interested in your evidence supporting, "these writers could not exist if they were not allowed to copy...."

Albert Henderson, Editor, PUBLISHING RESEARCH QUARTERLY <70244.1532[_at_]compuserve.com> Received on Fri Oct 30 1998 - 12:30:30 GMT