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Re:Copyright doesn't need 95 years to get the job done by tptacek on Monday January 03, 2022 @09:33PM (#29790533)
Nah. The problem people have with copyright is the monopoly it gives the creator. That objectionable term is right there in the language of the copyright clause. There's no abstraction to flee to here. You can't reasonably argue that it's "new to American law".
Re:Copyright doesn't need 95 years to get the job done by danShumway on Monday January 03, 2022 @09:45PM (#29790632)
> There's no abstraction to flee to here. You can't reasonably argue that it's "new to American law".

What does that mean though? If you want to claim that copyright is a moral right, saying that it was invented early on in American history isn't a good enough argument to justify that. Lots of things were invented early on in American history that are not moral rights, they're just useful policies.

The US Constitution includes language like:

> [Senators and Representatives] shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No one would seriously claim that this means the Constitution is arguing that people have an inherent right not to be prosecuted while they're at a government job. It's a practical policy we put in place for practical reasons that should be examined through that lens.

And copyright is the same. The fact that the US Government reserves for itself the right to regulate commerce/sharing around ideas/inventions does not confer any moral right to any individual to have a monopoly over ideas. It merely gives Congress the right to establish that monopoly as it sees fit.

Re:Copyright doesn't need 95 years to get the job done by tptacek on Monday January 03, 2022 @09:59PM (#29790745)
I claimed that it's not new to American Law, citing the text of the US Constitution as evidence. I kind of don't know what it is that you're trying to argue; I think it doesn't have anything to do with what I'm saying.
Re:Copyright doesn't need 95 years to get the job done by Retric on Monday January 03, 2022 @10:34PM (#29790992)
To be clear the ability to have copyright was enabled by the constitution, but the constitution didn’t directly create any such laws.