The Case For Perpetual Copyright

Several readers sent in a link to an op-ed in the NYTimes by novelist Mark Halprin, who lays out the argument for what amounts to perpetual copyright. He says that anything less is essentially an unfair public taking of property: "No good case exists for the inequality of real and intellectual property, because no good case can exist for treating with special disfavor the work of the spirit and the mind." This community can surely supply a plethora of arguments for the public domain, words which don't appear in the op-ed. In a similar vein, reader benesch sends us to the BBC for a tale of aging pop performers (virtually) serenading Parliament in favor of extending copyright for recording artists in the UK. Some performers are likely to outlive the current protections, now fixed at a mere 50 years.
Update: 05/20 22:50 GMT by KD : Podcaster writes to let us know that the copyright reform community is crafting a reply over at Lawrence Lessig's wiki.

what are you wacked?

[Anonymous Coward]

thats the stupidest fucking thing ive heard since i started at microsoft

Artists Have No Right to Permanent Copyright

[RobotRunAmok]

They *DO* have a right to paid holidays, paid weekends off, paid sick days, time-and-a-half over 45 hours weekly, free coffee, free Poland Spring Water, a dental plan, a pharmaceuticals plan, and a 401-K plan.

Don't they...?

Re:Authors

[Anonymous Coward]

Novels take a year or more.

Not always true.. all it took JKRowling to create the Harry Potter books as a large dose of fibre and a heavy bowel movement.

Re:what are you wacked?

[Bob Gelumph]

Well, look how much progress has been achieved since the Great Library was burned down.
No one was landing on the moon back then, and there was no Interweb.
Since burning the Great Library resulted in all this progress, we should immediately implement perpetual copyrights. Q.E.D.

Re:what are you wacked?

[jimicus]

Perpetual copyright is tanamount to having the most beautiful spouse in the world... but being unable to touch them or speak to them.

Oh, so you've met my girlfriend?

A message from a perpetual copyright holder

[david.emery]

"Hello, this is God. Heaven hereby asserts copyright on the Bible, the Talmud, the Koran, etc, including text, plot elements, characters, etc. We expect the traditional tithe of 10% for the use of all of our intellectual property, including exclamations such as 'My God!' or 'Jesus Christ' whenever such expressions appear in published works, including the novels of Mr. Halprin. Copyright tithes should be made to the religious institution of choice. We will prosecute, those who violate our perpetual copyright can expect Eternal Damnation, as well as prosecution in more mundane/profane jurisdictions."

          dave