Academic

COULD WE HAVE A SHAKESPEARE WITHOUT COPYRIGHT? WHY, YES: To begin with, how odd is it that they

By Glenn Reynolds

COULD WE HAVE A SHAKESPEARE WITHOUT COPYRIGHT? WHY, YES:

To begin with, how odd is it that they?d invoke Shakespeare in this context? ?We need stronger copyright or else we won?t get the next Shakespeare? is like arguing ?We need the designated hitter, or how will we ever get the next Babe Ruth?? In a copyright-free world ? not that I?m advocating such a thing, but hey, you brought it up ? we?ll get the next Shakespeare the way we got the last Shakespeare, in a copyright-free world. The first copyright statute, the Statute of Anne, wasn?t passed until 1709, long after Shakespeare was a-moulderin? in the grave.

Maybe instead of fostering creativity, we need to worry about fostering historical literacy.

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on February 17, 2011 (boomark / email).