Abstract
This chapter critically examines current copyright protection schemes
that apply to digital information. We begin with a brief examination of the
way in which copyright law has evolved in the United States, from its
Anglo-American origins to the present, and then we examine three
traditional philosophical theories of property that have been used to
justify the granting of copyright protection. Arguing that each property
theory is inadequate, we next consider and reject the view that intellectual
property should not be protected at all (and thus should be completely
free). We then critically analyze the notion of information, arguing that
it should not be viewed as a commodity that deserves exclusive protection
but rather as something that should be communicated and shared.
Building on this view, we argue for a new presumptive principle for
approaching the copyright debate — namely, the principle that information
wants to be shared. Finally, we argue that presuming in favor of this
principle would enable us to formulate a copyright policy that can avoid
the extremes found in the two main competing contemporary positions,
both of which are morally unacceptable: (1) the view that access to all
digitized information should be totally free; and (2) the view that
overreaching, and arguably oppressive, copyright legislation, such as the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Copyright Term Extension Act,
is needed to protect digital information.
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