[allmendream]

Patents for 28 years might indeed slow innovation. Because they deal with useful discoveries and processes.

But what innovation comes from cheap imitation of someone’s original content? DJs? Really? THAT is your number one example? LOL!!!!

[Utmost Certainty]

It's not my #1 example—it's an example, and I didn't write this paper.

Apparently you overlooked the others listed:

B. Hampering scientific inquiry
C. Stifling the creation of a public library
D. Discouraging added-value industries
E. Penalizing legitimate journalism and oversight

B & C in particular concern how current copyright laws hamper the propagation of useful knowledge.

I don't understand why you're engaging in such a petty argument. If you think the current laws for copyright are wonderful and that this is a stupid policy idea, fine, just say so and move on.

[JerseyanExile]

You want a perfect example of how a large body of public domain works encourages creativity? Well, look no further than Disney. Most of those classic Disney tales were, in fact, reworked versions of the creations of other people that were in the public domain. Snow White (Brothers Grimm), Pinocchio (Carlo Collodi), Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), The Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling), The Little Mermaid (Hans Christian Andersen), Hunchback of Notre Dame (Victor Hugo), the list goes on.

[Blue Ink]

“But what innovation comes from cheap imitation of someone’s original content?”

Um, movies? Thomas Edison nearly strangled the nascent motion picture industry. His enforcers charged a fee if you made a movie. His enforcers charged a fee if you made a motion picture camera. In short, Edison got a cut if you did anything involving light, shadow, and moving pictures.

That could not have been the Founders’ intent. It would be like Guttenberg getting a cut on every printing press.

That’s why Hollywood fled to, well, Hollywood. The myth is “for the weather.” The reality was to get away from the Edison police.