Exactly. First example: the Walt Disney Corporation. For decades now the employees of Walt Disney have been reaping wild profits off of intellectual property they had no hand in creating. Almost all of the creators of the classic Disney characters are dead, yet these corporate types still leech off of ideas that they never had anything to do with. How? By paying/bribing Congress to extend copyright protection well beyond any reasonable duration. Why should Michael Eisner have made millions off of Mickey Mouse, which he neither created, bought, nor had anything to do with the popularity of? Return copyright to the original 7 years set by the Founding Fathers (or even to the life of the originator), and all of this mess would go away. Instead, copyright leeches are trying hard to use the force of government to make money off of ideas they never had anything to do with in the first place...
Exactly. First example: the Walt Disney Corporation
If the church of the medieval monks had enough clout to outlaw the printing press, because it threatened an end run around their monopoly on hand copied books, that would not have make it right.
Sometimes the law reflects good. Sometimes it reflects greed.
This seems to be a pretty clear case of the latter.
Perhaps. But the IP pirates have been stealing work that they had no hand in creating.
One could argue that Disney continues to produce movies financed in part by the "wild profits" they make. (By the way, what level of profit qualifies as "wild" in your view?)
In contrast, file sharers and other IP pirates produce nothing.
How? By paying/bribing Congress to extend copyright protection well beyond any reasonable duration. . . . Return copyright to the original 7 years set by the Founding Fathers (or even to the life of the originator), and all of this mess would go away.
If you are trying to make the case that the intellectual property laws should be changed, then I am willing to listen. I would just ask that you answer some questions:
(1) What is a "reasonable duration" of copyright protection, and why?
(2) How would you go after the corporate "copyright leeches" without also harming writers, artists, and other producers of IP?
(3) What would you propose be done about those who steal IP after the law has been changed to your liking?
That last question is important because, despite your assurance that "all of this mess would go away," I am not convinced. Once a large number of persons come to believe they have the right to enjoy free music, movies, and other IP, why would they ever pay a dime for it?
Ding Ding Ding, we have a WINNER!
American copyright law is a joke. Good post.