From: Adam Flinton 

Geo. wrote:
> "Adam Flinton"  wrote in message

>>
>>Yeah but Rich & his lobbying minions would just accuse the gov/ people
>>in general of "copyright theft" or possibly even
"copyright child abuse"
>
>
> Seems to me if I were MS I'd be willing to risk being split in two or being
> fined, but would I be willing to risk losing control of Windows?
>

Not if pet politicos can reduce that risk to 0.

Control is what is key here. When the IP nutters witter on about
"Property" it is actually control which s what they
"own"/have been given by the state/people

>
>>Again though...public interest vs private "capital" inc
"Intellectual
>>capital" would mean that those with money to lose from this arrangement
>>would pay to ensure it doesn't happen.
>>
>>"We lose money you lose campaign contributions...."
>
>
> but they don't lose money, I'm not proposing fines, I'm proposing loss of
> copyright, ie loss of control. Copyright is an agreement between authors and
> inventors with the public, break the agreement and there is no reason for
> the public to continue honoring their part of that agreement.
>

Very true however the IP cartel would look on anything which even vaguely
looks like a threat to their death grip on Culture, Art & Software as a
mortal threat.


> Bill Gates doesn't care about money, he's got plenty, but would he care
> about control? One loss results in a permanent status of public domain,
> TILT, game over. You learn real quick not to beat on the pinball machine.
>

Yup. However I am sufficiently jaded to think that it would be a political
battle not over ideas but over who can shovel how much cash into how many
campaign contributions. The IP cartel have bigger bank accounts than the
american people where it comes to this single issue....

The trick is to start pointing out to American voters how much of
"their" culture is now locked within high walls guarded by the
FBI at the behest of a number of private comps & where in reality the
is no "american" culture as it's actually not owned by
"americans" & they have no stake in it whatsoever.

Then move onto "Patent/copyright paralysis" caused by everything
being patented / every note combination copyrighted & the damage this
causes. The "Renaissance" happened because a lot of "guarded
& owned" information & art was suddenly liberated into Western
Europe (from Constantinople).

Then tie this into the "patenting" on the human (& other)
genomes where if I have ID'ed a section of a chromosome then....I get to
"own it" & deny others the right to even have a look without
paying...

There are so many things steadily building up that at some point things are
going to crack as the massive concentration of "ownership" of
knowledge by the realitively few (mostly/all rich) is going to cause real
problems in the "knowledge economy".

Adam

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