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

Seems fitting

[Xelios]

The majority of the garbage the music industry is spewing out these days doesn't last longer than 5 years anyway.

Re:Rainbows and Unicorns for everyone!

[Neil Watson]

Alright. I through the gantlet and the US voting public for their constant lack of voter turn out. This lack of turn out gives corporate lobby groups substantial influence over elected officials. For the most part the US voting public has no one to blame but themselves when US elected officials pass some sort of self-serving, corporate boot licking law. I submit that all eligible voters who do not vote should shut their pie holes and go home.