"Copyright’s Paradox: The Public Interest and Private Monopoly"

Nicholas Ruiz has self-archived "Copyright's Paradox: The Public Interest and Private Monopoly."

Here's an excerpt:

Copyright in its current state presents two major concerns: 1) The broad scope of the derivative right undermines the idea/expression dichotomy and adds doubt in the minds of the secondary users; and 2) The custom of extending durations of "existing" copyrights is unconstitutional and is causing a stagnate public domain. As a consequence of these problems, the free flow of ideas and dissemination of information has been thwarted. In response to these problems, I have researched possible remedies, looking to copyright systems abroad, other legal scholars, our history, and other developed areas of law.

There must be some kind of mechanism to limit Congress' ability of extending existing copyright terms; otherwise the Constitutional mandate of a "limited" term will have no consequence. This comment suggests reinstating requisite formalities, the two-term copyright regime, and a new formulation of the derivative works right.

Digital Scholarship | "A Quarter-Century as an Open Access Publisher"

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Author: Charles W. Bailey, Jr.

Charles W. Bailey, Jr.