Sunday, July 28, 2013
Next Two Congressional Hearings On Copyright Reform Show The Exact Wrong Approach
Techdirt: As Congress kicked off its latest effort towards comprehensive copyright reform, I noted some talking points that raised a really big concern: many in Congress appeared to suggest that copyright reform was a fight between "content creators" and "technology companies" and that any eventual result would be a balance between what those two sides were squabbling for. This is very concerning for a variety of reasons. First off, neither of those groups should be the primary concern of lawmakers. The Constitutional mandate for Congress when it comes to copyright is to "promote the progress of science" (the useful arts stuff is about patents...). The key beneficiaries are to be the public.
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The author of the article fails to mention the latter part of the clause they use to prove their point. Copyrights are a little more complicated than the author makes them seem. The author has a point when they mention that copyrights are intended to benefit the public, but they do so "by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Although the method Congress is using may not be the most efficient or effective method of approaching copyright law, their method is not as off as the author would make it seem. Copyrights are complicated because they require Congress balance the public interest with the interest of inventors. Technology is awesome, and its creators deserve to be recognized. But, where is the line drawn? If a creator wanted to keep their new invention to themselves, should they be allowed to? What if they invented the cure to cancer, or a tool with one, simple purpose that happened to serve another different, complex one, or any number of useful things, should they still be able to hoard that technology? Congress' decision to have a hearing about copyrights and a hearing about technology is an adequate way to begin evaluating copyright laws. There is a conflict, and although a simplification of a complex issue, is a starting point.
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