Einstein predicted general failure of modern copyright system

[muxec]

Wikiquotes:

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Einstein

nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced

So do not say that something is not right with people who do not accept laws that can not be enforced. The problem is with parliamentarians who are not as smart as Einstein

[alva]

Einstein: "My wife doesn't understand me".

[Urban Ranger]

I don't think Einstein has forseen the passge of the Sonny-Bono Extension Act, the DCMA, or similar garbage that has totally made a mockery out of copyrights. Even the Bernes Convention is absurd - lifetime + 50 years? Com'on.

[Odin]

It is sickenimg really. The systen has become so rigged by corporate intrests that the mechanism that is supposed to encourage creativity now stifles it.

[aneeshm]

"If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of today's ideas were invented and had taken out patents, the industry would be at a complete standstill today...A future start-up with no patents of its own will be forced to pay whatever price the giants choose to impose."

-William Gates , 1991

Current biggest supporter of software patents - Microsoft . Capitalists are expected to have integrity ane be principled , not behave like this .

As for copyrignts - the current system is a perversion . Copyright should be for the lifetime of the creator + X years after his death , X being between 30 to 50 years .

[Sikander]

Re: Einstein predicted general failure of modern copyright system

Originally posted by muxec
Wikiquotes:

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Einstein

So do not say that something is not right with people who do not accept laws that can not be enforced. The problem is with parliamentarians who are not as smart as Einstein

But he died dejected that he couldn't work into a unified theory of intellectual property.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by aneeshm
As for copyrignts - the current system is a perversion . Copyright should be for the lifetime of the creator + X years after his death , X being between 30 to 50 years .

That wouldn't be at all helpful to promote further creations, would it? A writer could write just one book and sit on it for the rest of his/her life.

The law gives the creator a temporary monopoly in exchange for creation of works to ultimately enrich the society as a whole. Such a long period isn't exactly temporary, and doesn't serve the intent at all.

[Dr Strangelove]

Re: Einstein predicted general failure of modern copyright system

Originally posted by muxec
Wikiquotes:

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Einstein

So do not say that something is not right with people who do not accept laws that can not be enforced. The problem is with parliamentarians who are not as smart as Einstein

Your quote is actually his viewpoint on Prohibition, not patent rights.

Please note that patent rights and copyrights are not the same. Copyright protection is much, much longer than patent protection. It would appear that the entertainment industry is much more influential in Washington than those which rely upon scientific creativity.

[Agathon]

Current biggest supporter of software patents - Microsoft . Capitalists are expected to have integrity ane be principled , not behave like this .

What planet do you live on?

[muxec]

Originally posted by aneeshm
Capitalists are expected to have integrity ane be principled , not behave like this .

LOL It's the funniest thing I heard for long time.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by aneeshm
Capitalists are expected to have integrity ane be principled , not behave like this .

Expected by whom? Certainly not Adam Smith (the author, not the poster). You Randroids are so funny.

[Starchild]

Originally posted by aneeshm
Capitalists are expected to have integrity ane be principled , not behave like this .

Integrity denies profits.

[muxec]

Don't you understand that "prohibition" in general is not just ban on alcohol, but ban on one branch of market or one sort of trade goods? Think deeper!

[aneeshm]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


That wouldn't be at all helpful to promote further creations, would it? A writer could write just one book and sit on it for the rest of his/her life.

The law gives the creator a temporary monopoly in exchange for creation of works to ultimately enrich the society as a whole. Such a long period isn't exactly temporary, and doesn't serve the intent at all.

As far as I know , copyright is protection offered to the creator of property in question . But once the creator is dead , he can no longer judge how his creation is used , thus it falls into the public domain . The + X years part was added to ensure that a creator could enter contracts involving his work without fearing their nullification in case he died .

So even if he creates only one thing ( which is an absolutely absurd example , creators tend to create almost irrespective of circumstances ) , he is still justified in doing so .

I personally see no flaw in such a system . Copyright is intended to protect creators from unauthorised use of their property while they are alive to judge it .



I seem to have a set a record of sorts - four consecutive comments on just one sentence which I posted .

[muxec]

Anyway people who think that prohibition of one branch of the market is possible are "minimally exceptional".

Copyright protects huge corporations, not authors.