Patent Law

Copyright, the Era of the Author and the Statute of Anne at Blawg Review #258

By Victoria Pynchon

Blawg Review #258 at Cathy Gellis' Statements of Interest recounts the glorious history and ignominious decline of the Statute of Anne and issues a call for change. 

Take a look, you won't regret it.  Excerpt below.

But the end result of this 300-year "evolution" is a law full of absurdities that in no way delivers on the intended goal of the Statute of Anne. The quid pro quo of giving creators a little monopoly so the public could get access to their creations has given way to total domination by the creators over nearly all exploitation of their works, essentially indefinitely, at the expense of the public, and in nearly every country there is. This author-centric copyright law found around the world may be able to trace its lineage back to the Statute of Anne, but like a clone that's been copied too many times, its DNA has been degraded to the point that it is unrecognizable compared with its ancestor.

These changes have happened incrementally over the centuries, but with the arrival of the Internet the pace has increased. Like the Stationers' Company panicked at the coming of a new political age, today's incumbents fear the challenges to their power the digital age may herald.

But like we saw 300 years ago, change need not be unwelcome. Change provides opportunity to enhance society. Just as the Statute of Anne led to an explosion of public discourse, now liberated from heavy government control, the Internet presents the universe of nearly unlimited content to learn from, enjoy, experience -- and build upon. (Don't forget: even authors are regular users sometimes.) A tool like the Internet that can so enhance the public sphere needs law focused on enhancing the public sphere too, just like the Statute of Anne once did.

So maybe on this 300th anniversary of enactment of this statute its time to think about reviving it. It may be dead, but perhaps its promise is not quite dead yet.

See here for a follow-up to Lance Goddard's Blawg Review #257 at 22 Tweets, and tune in next week when Blawg Review #259 will be hosted at Legal Blog Watch. Blawg Review has information about next week's host, and instructions how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.

Full post as published by IP ADR Blog on April 05, 2010 (boomark / email).