[dvd-discuss] Privatization of Copyright (A Modest Proposal) (wasHackingrequires search warrant -- ruling)

[microlenz(at)earthlink.net]

Glendon M. Gross" <gross@xinetd.com> wrote
It's almost as though the RIAA would become like a "Department of Art" or
"Department of Copyright Enforcement." ....along those lines...

The Privatization of Copyright - A Modest Proposal.

With the ideological direction of reducing the size of government comes the 
requirement to reduce what it actually has to do. ONe successful approach has 
been outsourcing. Fewer Federal Employees means more outside workers are hired 
to do what had been government functions. Take copyright. Should the government 
really even be involved in it? Upon reflection, one realizes that this is 
probably the simplest thing for the government to outsource. Consider the 
original copyright system in the USA. Works had to be stamped with copyright 
notices giving the time of publication and registered with the Librarian of 
COngress. The government is squarely interfering in the copyright process. So 
to properly outsource copyright one must have a copyright system that does not 
require the government. In the original copyright, nothing was copyrighted 
unless it had a copyright notice. To outsource, the copyright notice will no 
longer be required. Furthermore, registration of copyright also required 
government interference. Eliminating that requirement will permit outsourcing. 
To really spur the privatization of copyright there must be something for the 
outsources to do. Obviously, the best thing for them to do is to have to spend 
inordinate amounts of time researching copyright. The first thing that must be 
done is to allow everything to be copyrighted. Next by eliminating the 
requirement that the work even have a date of publication, even more research 
is required. Set the term to be the lifetime of the author plus 50 years. That 
way, even if you can determine who wrote the work, you probably can't find who 
owns the copyright years after their death, their children's death, their 
children's children or the death of the last collaborator or their children'd 
death, or their children's children's death. So the really best way to 
outsource this is simply to let the outsourcers be the holders of vast amounts 
of copyright material already. That way they can get more and have a more 
efficient time searching through all this.  Now to really make this work, one 
needs to really stretch the times the that holders of vast amounts of copyright 
material, such as corporations, can keep track of what they have. ANswer, 
increase it to life plus 70 years or 95 yrs for works for hire. That way the 
creators, most of the ancestors, and nearly all the corporations will all be 
gone and NOBODY will be able to figure it out. Now copyright can be outsourced 
from the Government. The economy is enhanced by all this outsourcing. The 
outsourcees can have perpetual employment. The sanctity of intellectual 
property rights can be preserved unto the fifth generation and total confusion 
shall reign over the land causing a multitude of court cases.


Posted on the openlaw website at

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/twiki/bin/view/Openlaw/PrivitizationOfCopyright

feel free to add or enhance....the more outrageous the better. The Santa Anas 
(reverse wind direction in LA coming off the desert) are starting to get to me 
and I guess I'm a little cranky