Re: Copyright & The New World Economic Order

On Fri, Jul 16, 1999, Lance Purple <lpurple[_at_]netcom.com> wrote:
>
> On Thu, 15 Jul 1999, Robert C. Cumbow <rcumbow[_at_]grahamdunn.com> wrote:
> >
> > [...] if your specific situation is one in which it is not immediately
> > obvious that the use would be fair, you should not simply look at 107
> > and complain that it's vague; you should consult with a qualified
> > attorney who is familiar with the relevant case law and can apply both
> > the prior decisional law and the statutory factors to your particular
> > set of facts, and give you reliable legal advice regarding whether
> > your proposed use is fair or not.
>
> Exactly.
>
> It isn't possible for the average citizen to determine whether
> they are breaking the law, unless (a) they never copy anything
> or (b) they fork over several hundred dollars to an attorney
> before -each- act of copying.
>
> And (c) if Congress did insert explicit fair-use guidelines, you
> need only look at the recent Sonny Bono Copyright Act or Digital
> Millenium Copyright Act, to guess whether they would expand your
> fair-use rights.

I find it astonishing that so many people on this list apparently believe that the law should be clear and pat and exactly the same for every person and situation, instead of flexible enough to accommodate different sets of facts, circumstances, and points of view. The flexibility inherent in a common law system of justice like the one Americans inherited from the British is precisely what separates a free people from an autocracy.

Bob

Robert C. Cumbow
> Graham & Dunn, P.C.
> 1420 Fifth Avenue, 33rd Floor
> Seattle, Washington 98101-2390
> Phone: 206-340-9619
> Fax: 206-340-9599
> E-mail: rcumbow[_at_]grahamdunn.com
> Website: http://www.grahamdunn.com/
>
Received on Sat Jul 17 1999 - 18:23:17 GMT