Permission, Please: Copyright in the Digital Era

Internet Law Digital Copyright Conclusion Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

The ever-harsher copyright laws passed by Congress over the past half-century have decreased the public's freedom drastically while inducing the creation of little additional "original works" such as books, music, and movies. Such restrictions run counter to the legal and economic theory that anchors copyright law. Legislation such as the Copyright Term Extension Act and the Copyright Act of 1976 lengthen the term of copyright far past the economically optimal minimum needed to induce innovation while perturbing the Constitutional definition of a "limited" term of copyright. Other acts, such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, threaten to let companies write their own copyright under the protection of the law.

Such over-restrictive laws run contrary to the purpose of copyright by limiting rather than encouraging innovation. They deplete the commons of useful material for future innovators to utilize without restrictions. As a result of the depleted commons, these innovators are suppressed from being as creative as possible because of frivolous copyright claims. By utilizing digital rights management technology, media companies threaten to further increase the cost of creativity by taking away the public's fair use rights.

It is clear, therefore, that the proposed bills designed to strengthen copyright further still should be rejected. They would only further chill innovation in our "knowledge society" for the benefit of a few large media companies. Rather, to reduce the cost of creativity, current copyright terms should be shortened and digital copyright legislation carefully considered before passage. A moratorium on new copyright legislation might help legislators reconsider and amend their currently destructive copyright laws.

Copyright was created to help further innovation by creating an incentive to publish original works. But in recent decades, lawmakers have lost sight of this fact in passing copyright laws that harm rather than help the creative climate. In a digital era that is dependent upon rapid innovation and the free exchange of ideas, such laws are particularly dangerous. It is therefore imperative that Congress reverse its course on copyright and return to its Constitutional mandate of passing copyright laws that truly help promote progress in the arts and sciences.

The future of copyright | References