[conspire] Book Burning continues thanks to the Feds

[Ross Bernheim]

On Mar 23,  02011, at 4:48 AM, Ruben Safir wrote:

> Copyright under US law and under English Common Law is not property  
> and
> it is only a matter of time that the Bern Convention is found
> unconstitutional.
>
> It is a limited monopoly for the expressed purpose of assuring only a
> single purpose, which is not to create "property" but to asure the
> furthernce of published works and invention.
>
> Whether you enjoy hearing those facts or not doesn't change it as  
> facts
> going as far back to the time of the St Anne grants.
>
> Ruben

While what you say may be true about copyright. (I personally think  
you are
correct about what copyright is.) I also don't see how that makes a  
bit of
difference to Congress or the President or the Supreme Court.

The Sonny Bono Copyright Extension is very clear evidence that  
copyright and
reality have long been divorced by Congress, the President and Supreme  
Court.
The express purpose of the law was to extend copyright terms to  
encourage the
create more works that would "eventually" pass into the public domain.  
That the
extended it back to cover works that were at the time already in the  
public domain
puts a like to the reason for the work. I have not seen any new works  
from the dead
like Walt Disney unless they have been channeling through Miss Cleo  
and I have
missed it!

The latest tactic is to push for "normalization" or "harmonization" or  
some other term
that imposes the most restrictive versions of copyright anywhere as  
the norm that all
countries should comply to. Then they push some country to go further  
in some aspect
and try to ratchet the world to that new level. That they have been  
pushing this in secret
treaties is despicable. It is a giveaway of the public's interests  
solely to enrich the already
wealthy.

<end rant>


Ross



The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain and leaves the rest of us  
dry.