Copyright as Cudgel

kongstad writes "In an issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, Siva Vaidhyanathan has some interesting things to say about the concept of Copyright: 'Back in the 20th century, if someone had accused you of copyright infringement, you enjoyed that quaint and now seemingly archaic guarantee of due process. Today, due process is a lot harder to pursue, and the burden of proof increasingly is on those accused of copyright infringement.'" A very good academic look at the recent expansions of copyright law.

Comments

to be expected

[tps12]

Well, back in the olden days, copyright infringement was really rare. Since it was so unusual, people were extra careful to follow the rules. Since then, with the onset of massive piracy rings and P2P networks (I repeat myself), rampant infringement has become something of a fact of life. We've discovered that the accused is guilty 99% of the time, and that the other 1% they are only not guilty thanks to some minor technicality. So while we may be violating the letter of the Constitution, we are maintaining the spirit of the Constitution. If people break the law, they had better be prepared to be treated like the criminals they are.

Re:to be expected

[JudgeFurious]

Troll my ass. It's an interesting point that would make an excellent start for a discussion.

It's true to a large extent and worth talking about. This post was dismissed as a troll because the person doing the moderating disagreed with posters position. Typical in here.