ADVERTISEMENT



Google       

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Intellectual Property Law Blogs -> The Patry Copyright Blog

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Bookmark

Intellectual Property Law

: The Patry Copyright Blog

The Natural Rights Issue

By William Patry

ADVERTISEMENTS
Claims that copyright involves human rights or is a property right are based on the theory that copyright is also a natural right -- a right that exists independent of legislative enactment, even if there are legislative enactments. In the United States, copyright is not a natural right, since the Supreme Court has said so twice, first in 1834 in Wheaton v. Peters, and then in 1932 in Fox Film Corp. v. Doyal. Yet, rhetoric based on a natural rights basis for copyright are behind all the claims that those who use copyrighted works without permission are thieves or pirates. If copyright is instead a limited privilege that parcels out limited control to copyright owners, one might view issues differently.

Professor Tom Bell has a draft of a book that takes on these issues and many others, called "Intellectual Privilege: Copyright, Common Law, and the Common Good," available here. There is a lot of good thinking and research, and I encourage others to read it.

Full post as published by The Patry Copyright Blog on January 18, 2008 (boomark / email).

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.
Related Law Articles

Is Obama a Natural Born Citien?
Philip J. Berg, Esquire vs. Barack Hussein Obama, a/k/a Barry Soetoro, a/k/a Barry Obama, a/k/a Barack Dunham, a/k/a Barry Dunham, et al

Is Barack Obama a Natural Born Citizen?
Wrotnowski v. Bysiewicz (Supreme Court): Does Obama meet the constitutional requirements to be President

Cumulative Voting
Protecting minority shareholder interests

The Civil Rights Act of 1871
Law bans discrimination enacted under color of state law

State Will Statutes
State Differences in Last Will and Testament Checklist

Discrimination
Federal laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability

Lawsuits and Settlements

Natural Gas Explosion
Questar settles 7-figure natural gas explosion lawsuit.

Rally Rights
Gettysburg Borough awards arrested protester $22,500 civil rights settlement.

Mr. Brown Instant Coffee
Possible Melamine Contamination Prompts Canadian Agency to Issue Warning

Civil / Human Rights
alleging violations of basic human and civil rights.

NiSource
Settles Natural Gas Royalties Case for $380 Million

Tulsa County Natural Gas Royalties
Plaintiffs Awarded $126 Million

Related Searches

























































































































US Law
#1 Online Legal Resource













Your Blog Subscriptions
Subscribe to blogs

10,000+ Law Job Listings
Lawyer . Police . Paralegal . Etc
Earn a law-related degree
Are you the author of this blog? Adding USLaw.com to your Blogroll increases relevance. You qualify to display a USLaw Network badge.
Suggest changes to this blog's description or nominate another for inclusion. Register for updates.


Practice Area
Zip Code:

Contact a Lawyer Now!






0.0142 secs (new cache)