I have studied copyright law just a little -- enough to know that I am extremely unlikely ever to thoroughly understand it. That does not, however, stop me from having an opinion. With the Supreme Court hearing the MGM v. Grokster case, any number of people in the great somewhere out there have said this better than I ever could. So in case you care:
The best thing I've read so far on the case: Matthew Yglesias
The best bon mot on copyright in general I've seen in a while:
It can’t be said often enough. Copyright isn’t a “right” in the sense of the “rights of Man.” Copyright is a bargain. The object is to foster a society in which innovation is encouraged and rewarded. It isn’t to create a source of perpetual rents for an owner class. -- Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Software doesn't steal files, people do. If it is good enought for the NRA....
Posted by: David Bigwood at March 31, 2005 08:52 PM