Copyright vs. Community
by
Jeanne Rasata
Contributions
—
Published on
Sep 14, 2009 05:10 PM
Christchurch, New Zealand - Christchurch Town Hall, 86-95 Kilmore Street. Copyright developed in the age of the printing press, and was designed
to fit with the system of centralized copying imposed by the printing
press. But the copyright system does not fit well with computer
networks, and only draconian punishments can enforce it.
The global corporations that profit from copyright are
lobbying for draconian punishments, and to increase their
copyright powers, while suppressing public access to
technology. They wish to establish a pay-per-read system for
books, and convert public libraries into retail stores. If we
hope to serve the only legitimate purpose of copyright--to
promote progress, for the benefit of the public--then we must
change copyright law in the other direction.
