I feel like copyright has spawned an entire generation that feels even more entitled than the pirates. Our copyrights are an allowance from society because people feel it is to their benefit to do us a small favor. They are not handed down to me from the Almighty because I'm so awesome for having banged together a Ruby stick and a C stick.
If we want to talk about natural rights, demanding that somebody not view my work until a week later than somebody else just because I feel like making them wait is some of the most absurd entitlement I've ever heard of. Can you imagine a painter standing outside an art gallery stopping Australians from entering? What would you think of that guy?
(This isn't meant as a "Up wit da piratez" screed or whatever. I'm just saying, the more control we exert through our copyrights, the less right I feel we have to call anybody else entitled, because the things we can force people to do through copyright are just ridiculously audacious from a perspective of natural rights.)
If we want to talk about natural rights, demanding that somebody not view my work until a week later than somebody else just because I feel like making them wait is some of the most absurd entitlement I've ever heard of. Can you imagine a painter standing outside an art gallery stopping Australians from entering? What would you think of that guy?
(This isn't meant as a "Up wit da piratez" screed or whatever. I'm just saying, the more control we exert through our copyrights, the less right I feel we have to call anybody else entitled, because the things we can force people to do through copyright are just ridiculously audacious from a perspective of natural rights.)