Copyright Law

[Mr_Jones]

This has probably been asked before – or answered in an article somewhere – so I don’t mind a hyperlink as an answer to my question:

What is the theory regarding copyright law? I know that it is a very complicated branch of the law; but I would be interested to know what has been said about it – especially in terms of Bastiat’s law philosophy.

Thank you.

[liberty_student]

http://www.stephankinsella.com/ip/

hth

[Anonymous_Coward]

Another important point: in our title-transfer model, a person should be able to sell not only the full title of ownership to property, but also part of that property, retaining the rest for himself or others to whom he grants or sells that part of the title. Thus, as we have seen above, common-law copyright is justified as the author or publisher selling all rights to his property except the right to resell it… The only proviso is that there must, at every time, be some existing owner or owners of all the rights to any given property.

Rothbard’s view on the subject from The Ethics of Liberty, ch 19.

[solos]

What rights are there in a free market? Other companies that are not bound by the contract could just use the same material without paying. I don’t see how copyright is any beneficial to society.

[Bostwick]

@Anonymous Coward

Another important point: in our title-transfer model, a person should be able to sell not only the full title of ownership to property, but also part of that property, retaining the rest for himself or others to whom he grants or sells that part of the title. Thus, as we have seen above, common-law copyright is justified as the author or publisher selling all rights to his property except the right to resell it… The only proviso is that there must, at every time, be some existing owner or owners of all the rights to any given property.

Rothbard’s view on the subject from The Ethics of Liberty, ch 19.

Thats a very weak justification. It does nothing to explain why selling a copy of a book is equivalent to reselling the original.

It presumes that the ideas on the page are a seperate piece of property from the physical book, yet thats the entire point of debate!

[scineram]

Exactly. Not to mention he completely disregards uncontracted third parties.

[TropicalK]

I is conceivable that a mutually benefitial contractional agreement would include a prohibition of copying. With the music industry for example, I sell you a song I made as long as you agree not to disseminate it in any fashion. Both sides gain. Copyright in some respects is just the government enforcing a private contract.

[scineram]

And what if others hear or read it?