The Future End of Classic Computing

From: Sean 'Captain Napalm' Conner <spc_at_conman.org>
Date: Mon Apr 1 16:14:32 2002

It was thus said that the Great Christopher Smith once stated:
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Douglas H. Quebbeman [mailto:dquebbeman_at_acm.org]
>
> > Adam Schiff, another congressman from California, is proposing
> > a similiar law. Adam has stated that he doesn't expect the law to
> > pass, but that its sole purpose is to gain leverage against the
> > high-tech industry regarding the copyright issue and in favor of
> > the entertainments industry.
>
> > In other words, they we'll all be sufficiently scared that
> > we'll finally
> > give up some ground in the copyright issue. What ground is left
> > to give up? They've already lengthened the terms of protection
> > when they should have been shortening them.
>
> What issue is there? If they don't like copyright as it was
> originally defined, fine. Abolish it. That's fair, and everyone's
> still on equal ground. :)

  Not quite so easy here in the States. From the Constitution of the United
States, Article 1, Section 8:

        To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for
        limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their
        respective writings and discoveries;

  From this derives copyright and patent law (even Fair Use is not defined
in the Constitution---that comes from the 1976 Copyright Act when the common
practice of fair use was put into law). To abolish copyright, you would
need to amend the Constitution.

  For anyone wanting to abolish copyright it would behoove them study the
results obtained in France after the French Revolution when copyright law
was abolished.

> I think Mr. Schiff ought to be required to reimburse the government
> for the salaries (plus usage of buildings, etc) of all the people
> whose time he wastes with his bill. That ought to be enough to spend
> all the money that some companies are paying him for it, plus his own
> salary, and make him get a job at McDonalds to make ends meet.

  I think you're being kind.

  -spc (He and the Honorable Hollings (cough) should be tossed out and
        not allowed to hold public office for at least 12 years ... )
Received on Mon Apr 01 2002 - 16:14:32 BST