All works are inherently public domain: copyright isn’t property, which is why it expiring isn’t an unconstitutional “taking.” Congress merely chooses to grant control back to the Creator for a while, as an incentive to create more works. It’s a power Congress has, not an obligation.
It’s ironic: publishers claim copies are “licensed, not sold,” but that’s a lie: individual copies are property, and are sold. The real “licensed, not sold” is Congress granting the temporary monopoly privilege itself.
rickyrigatoni@lemm.ee 7 months ago
what the fuck are you smoking
grue@lemmy.world 7 months ago
The same thing Thomas Jefferson smoked, I guess? I’m not saying anything much different than what he wrote in this letter explaining his philosophical underpinning of the Copyright (and Patent) Clause: