Public-Domain Bookmobile Hits the Road

At Belle Haven Elementary School in Palo Alto, right about... *now*, the Internet Archive Bookmobile is starting its ten-day, cross-country trip to the Supreme Court. They're putting the hammer down (itinerary) (blog) to make it to Ohio for the Bookmobile Conference. Then they'll drive into Washington, D.C. on Oct. 8, the day before the nine Justices hear the copyright-extension case Eldred v. Ashcroft. The contraption is a Ford Aerostar with decals, satellite dish, wireless LAN, laptops... and a printer and binder to do on-demand printing of any of the thousands of public domain books on the internet. (The webpage says 20,000 but the decals claim 1,000,000... maybe they have 50 fonts :) Update: 10/01 01:33 GMT by T : Nick Arnett writes "The piece about Belle Haven School's bookmobile put the school in Palo Alto. It's not; it's across the freeway, in a far less wealthy and privileged neighborhood, where access to technology is much less common than in Palo Alto. (I'm on the board of Plugged In, a community technology center in the same area as Belle Haven.)"

I sincerely hope...

[perrin5]

That this has ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT. The entire point of the Supreme Court is that they are not swayed by public opinion. That's why, once appointed, the justices are in until they retire. Their only decision making process _should_ be the law.

That said, good for these guys. I am a huge fan of public, attention grabbing demonstrations, plus I like book mobiles.

It's an argument, not a poll

[Planesdragon]

Courts should be, and are, swayed by logical opinions and arguments. That's why our legal system is a combative one.

An expression of demand for works in the public domain should be considered by the court, ESSPECIALLY if it's shown that they're kept in print /made avaliable despite no copyright.

The argument for extended copyrights is basically "can't keep them in print if not copywritten," which means that they're largely unavaliable to casual consumers.

Cute, but silly

[sssmashy]

I think the whole concept of a mobile bookmobile downloading e-books by satellite is cute, but... couldn't they just show the kids how to download the e-books from home? Or, since the books are mostly public-domain classics, why not provide the kids with some of the millions of second-hand paper editions in circulation? It's not as sexy a solution, but at least the kids won't strain their young eyeballs squinting at a screen, or waste trees by printing them out.

Re:I sincerely hope...

[stevenbee]

While it may be true that the Court won't be swayed, I find the project to be rather heartening on a humanitarian level; it's all to rare to see a pure celebration of knowledge and the free flow of information in this day and age....

Re:I sincerely hope...

[clonebarkins]

Whether or not the courts are swayed by public opinion, legislators are extremely swayed by public opinion. While it may not help initially at the Supreme Court level, it may garner some previously unknown support for a rich public domain and the public demonstration might actually help hammer through the thick skulls of some politicians (here's hoping!). Remember, even if the Supreme Court rules that The Mickey Mouse Copyright Act is constitutional, there's still the (remote!) possibility that in the future it could be repealed by a benevolent and intelligent Congress.

Please stop laughing....

The Supremes aren't the only target

[yerricde]

The entire point of the Supreme Court is that they are not swayed by public opinion.

The Supreme Court isn't the only target of these demonstrations. The U.S. Congress is located in the same town. The entire point of Congress, as implied in the Constitution, is that it is swayed by public opinion.

Re:Cute, but silly

[clonebarkins]

couldn't they just show the kids how to download the e-books from home?

You assume they have a net connection. Two words: Digital Divide

Or, since the books are mostly public-domain classics, why not provide the kids with some of the millions of second-hand paper editions in circulation?

But you're forgetting that not all the paper editions in circulation are themselves in the public domain.

I hope it has an effect...

[anthony_dipierro]

I hope it brings attention to the issue. This is a really important case, regardless of who wins, because the Supreme Court is going to be setting a huge precedent as to how much power the Congress has in passing copyright laws. Even if they don't strike down the law they're almost certainly going to condemn the Appeals Court for saying that the First Amendment does not apply, and they are going to decide whether or not Congress is allowed to pass Copyright law which does not promote the progress of science and useful arts.

I think we're going to have a split decision, or else we're going to see the law struck down, and I highly doubt public opinion is going to be a factor at all. But people need to be educated on the issues. Even many if not most Slashdotters don't realize that copyright is not a moral right, but is one which granted solely for the purpose of encouraging progress. This Supreme Court ruling should help to show that fact.

Quick Cross-Country Trip

[reallocate]

Leave Palo Alto today and arrive in Columbus on Friday, including stops at "retirement and mobile homes"?

Glad I'm not driving.

Copyrights are temporary for a reason

[Anonymous Coward]

And that reason is so that when they expire, new authors and artists can expound upon existing works to create new works. In this way, artistic creation is greatly influenced by past works with no royalties to pay.

When things pass into the public domain they create a legacy of creation that will lead to more creation. When nothing passes into the public domain, where will new artists and authors get their inspiration? Thin air?