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Will Wheaton is wrong on one point
Wil Wheaton's speech contains a number of good points. I thank Doc for pointing us to it. However, Wil Wheaton's speech also includes the following words: [Copyright law] exists to protect and promote artists. Don't ever forget that. This is wrong. Copyright law exists to enlarge the public domain. That's all. Don't you forget that, Wil. One of the clearest statements of the principles underlying copyright and patent law is the following dictum from the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion the patent-law case of Scott Paper v. Marcalus--words that apply mutatis mutandis to copyright law as well: "The aim of the patent laws is not only that members of the public shall be free to manufacture the product or employ the process disclosed by the expired patent, but also that the consuming public at large shall receive the benefits of the unrestricted exploitation, by others, of its disclosures....The public has invested in such free use by the grant of a monopoly to the patentee for a limited time."-- Scott Paper Co. v. Marcalus Mfg. Co., Inc., 67 USPQ 193, at 196 (S. Ct., 1945. Stone, J.) Emphasis added. >>> Revision history: This post was edited on 29 August 2002 (Gregorian Lunar Almanac: 9th Moon, 21st day until sunset) to correct the spelling of Wil Wheaton's first name, and to add a missing space between two words. <<< There are responses to this message:
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