[consulting] Guilds vs. Unions

[Steven Scotten]

On Aug 10, 2009, at 2:27 PM, Alfredo Reyes wrote:

> There is no "trend towards the eradication of intellectual property  
> law" - just the opposite, they are hardening the laws in response to  
> digital technology, and under the pressure from corporate owners of  
> IP to increase copyright durations.


I admit that the recent trend is a reaction to excessive copyright  
terms, but between the growing popularity of the well-named Pirate  
Party and all the proposed Orphan Works legislation (which requires  
that you simply not bother to try to contact the owner in order to be  
free of any usage restrictions), the legs are being sawed out from  
under the protection that exists today.

I'm all for reducing limits on copyright (25-40 years regardless of  
the life of the author sounds reasonable to me), but wholeheartedly  
against the "just scrap it" mentality reformers seem to have.