When copyright owners extend the copyright terms of existing works, as they’ve done repeatedly in the past, they are taking works that would otherwise enter the public domain and keeping them private. That is a theft from the public, from you and me, and it surely amounts to tens of billions of dollars. So who’s the real pirate?
– the consistently thoughtful Dan Gillmor in “We must engage in copyright debate“
This is an issue I hadn’t previously considered, and I think it may have indeed gotten a bit buried amongst the other demonstrated evils and examples of copyright holders’ greed.
Dan has promised to highlight concrete steps we consumers can take to protect our rights against the control-grabbing entertainment industry. In the meantime, I encourage all of us to not only chastise congresscritters who are in bed with the RIAA and MPAA, but also to praise those who are on the right side of copyright issues.
EDITED TO ADD:
Photo credit: thepirateempire.blogspot.com
What do you think?