Copyright Cutback Proposed As RIAA Solution

An anonymous reader writes "InfoWeek blogger Alex Wolfe proposes a novel solution to the ongoing spate of RIAA lawsuits over alleged music copying. He suggests legislation which cuts back corporate copyrights from 120 years to 5 years. 'We should do what we do to children who misbehave,' he writes. 'Take away their privileges.' Wolfe says this is regardless of the misunderstanding surrounding the latest case, which apparently isn't about ripping CDs to one's own computer. As to those who say copyrights are a right: "That's simply a misunderstanding of their purpose. Copyrights, like patents, weren't implemented to protect their owners in perpetuity. They are part of a dance which attempts to balance off societal benefits against incentives for writers and inventors. You want to incentivize people to push the state of the creative and technical arts, but you don't want give those folks such overbearing protections that future advances by other innovators are stifled." What do you think; is it time to cut off the record industry?"

Comments

Re:Preaching to the choir

[rnturn]

"Sony Bono"?

I think you meant to type "Sonny Bono" but, then again, maybe you really weren't that far from being right.

Re:Preaching to the choir

[Gorshkov]

most of them (think boomers) would vote to extend it because that's what Sony Bono would have wanted us to do.

Us "boomers" are old enough to remember hearing him sing. That was NOT music that should be protected ..... trust me on this.

Re:Preaching to the choir

[fastest fascist]

No no, it SHOULD be protected. Strongly. So strongly that you need to obtain a separate license for each time you play any of his "music", and failure to do so would be a capital offense.