If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it.
Its peculiar character, too, is that no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it.
He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.
That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them, like fire, expansible over all space, without lessening their density in any point, and like the air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being, incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation.
Inventions then cannot, in nature, be a subject of property.
? Thomas Jefferson
I remember some quote about US Copyright being set in place as non-perpetual in order to create create a rich public domain. Here’s hoping they’re unable to extend it again in 2013. I’m sure we’ll hear some crap about how the economy’s bad and it would be wrong to take away these people’s income streams.
Luke, that’s a very glib statement. I’d guess that you’re a young man who doesn’t create any intellectual property, but is content with stealing downloads off illegal music sites for your own amusement. And who makes your personal enjoyment possible? Writers, musicians, creators.
It might seem unfair to you that Irving Berlin was such a genius and even more unfair that he lived to be 100, since his heirs will be reaping the benefits of his talent for 75 years after his death. That’s one extreme. On the other hand, there’s a writer like me, who hasn’t had any major success at the age of 58. It certainly would be sweet if any of my intellectual properties became financially successful for me late in life so that I continue to pay my mortgage, and perhaps turn some of those profits back into new work for ungrateful people like you to enjoy. I’d also love to be able to transfer copyrights to my heirs – perhaps my nephews, since I have no children.
My point is that you err with the huge assumption of imagining that all creators are as rich as Walt Disney, which is as far from the truth as you can get. And you forget about that single mother in Nashville with three kids, who is dependent upon her secretarial job with the record company. They all have to eat, don’t they?
I’ll make you a deal. I’ll let you download 5 of my tunes for free if you let me come to your house and take 5 things that I’d like to have for free. Deal?