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Kahle vs Ashcroft: Copyright Battle Continues

Posted by michael on from the ding-ding dept.

Robotech_Master writes "People may remember librarian Brewster Kahle as the man behind Archive.org's Wayback Machine and the Internet Bookmobile. He was one of the big supporters of Eldred in the Eldred vs Ashcroft case. Well, he's at it again. A new lawsuit, Kahle vs Ashcroft, has been filed as of March 22nd. Lawrence Lessig comments on this case in his blog." Question number 3 of the FAQ explains that while the Eldred case challenged the length of copyright expansion, this case challenges the breadth.

2 of 390 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hasn't this already been settled? by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who's to classify a work as "abandonware?" If the author doesn't want the work released, he should have the right to keep it that way. The burden should rest on the publisher, even if that means tracking down the current copyright holder and begging for permission.

    Just because you can't find it easily doesn't mean that it should be free for the taking.

  2. Unconstitional? by Jay+Bucks · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Obviously perpetual copyrights are unconstitional. It explicitly says so in Article 1 of the Constitution...

    "To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;"

    Notice how no execeptions are made for abandonware, shareware, vaporware, freeware or any other type. So now the question to ask seems to be what constitutes limited? My limited copyright time doesnt seem to equal Mickey Mouse's.

    Jason
    Argue About Stuff