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Election 2006 (and beyond): Digital Copyright Canada
From: russell_-at-_flora.ottawa.on.ca (Russell McOrmond)
Date: 3 Feb 2000 17:57:15 -0500
Glad Microsoft recognizes this: Maybe this can get some action to reform
Copyright and Patents:
A big part of Microsoft's argument is a somewhat novel one: copyright
law. The company says that its exclusionary contracts with computer
makers are perfectly OK, since owners of copyright software -- such
as, say, Microsoft Windows -- can dispose of it as they see fit.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,34023,00.html
This argument is not a novel one : it is essentially the argument I have
been making all along against Microsoft and other abusers of the Copyright
and Patent systems.
Copyright and Patent laws are intended to give temporary
*government-granted* monopolies (protection from competition) with the
intent to encourage future innovation, something that is a tradeoff
against free speech that is supposed to help the public. They are not
intended to be used as a lever to remove legitimate competition and to
hurt the public in an otherwise Free Market system. By arguing that
Copyright gives them this right, they are essentially giving fuel to
people like myself who have been calling for Copyright and Patent reform
as a long-term alternative to the short-term thinking of the Anti-trust
cases against single abusers of these laws.
Microsoft is not helping itself reminding the U.S. government that it is
this outdated form of government intervention that is the source of the
real problems they have uncovered in the Microsoft Anti-Trust case.
What will this branch of the computing industry do if the government
decided to let the markets handle these issues on their own and not offer
these companies Copyright/Patent protection against competition. I doubt
many believe that without these protections from competition, that
Microsoft is innovative enough to compete against organizations with much
more experience in a truly competitive market, such as those involved with
Linux, Apache, and other Free Software support. VA-Linux Systems (Who
recently bought Andover.net) and RedHat have a huge head-start over
Microsoft (Or Apple, Sun, Unisys, Amazon) in knowing how to make money
without this government intervention.
Other links:
http://russell.flora.org/work/closed-ms.html
The real issues behind the Microsoft anti-Trust lawsuits.
http://russell.flora.org/work/closed-ms1.html
Is Microsoft at Monopoly?
http://www.smart.net/~kaz/inframe/intprop.html
Intellectual Monopoly Laws versus True Property Rights.
---
Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://russell.flora.org/work/>
<http://russell.flora.org/work/open-links.html#abuse>
Boycott AMAZON.COM, Unisys (BurnAllGifs), ETOYS.
FLORA SERVER UPDATES: http://www.flora.org/flora/server/
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