In 18th Century Overture I question the popular interpretation of The Constitution as empowering Congress to grant copyright.

Being immortal, and often extremely powerful, corporations outclass human beings when it comes to lobbying and they won't be shy to perpetuate Constitutional interpretations that argue for both their continued existence, superiority (let alone equality) to human beings, and entitlement to monopolies (and other privileges they'd inveigle as rights).

Also see Not Being Human.

The Corporation is out of mortal control. You should recognise its contempt for the biosphere as evidenced by the Deepwater Horizon fiasco. It's only profit that influences the risks it takes, not the health of the planet and life upon it.

I think the link in your posting (to the Economist article) is broken.

The Economist link is broken, pls repair.

The link works now.

Crosbie says:

"In 18th Century Overture I question the popular interpretation of The Constitution as empowering Congress to grant copyright."

You can challenge all you like. The Supreme Court has already ruled on this issue and said that the Constitution does empower Congress to grant copyright.

There are only two options. Either a court case questioning the validity of this opinion must be heard by the court, which seems unlikely since they have already ruled on this issue, or the constitution has to be amended to clarify that congress is not permitted to grant copyright. Somehow, I doubt congress is even vaguely interested in taking up the issue.

The Supreme Court has also addressed the issue of whether the copyright clause is a violation of the first amendment and found that it does not because copyright only protects a particular embodiment of an idea and not the idea itself.

Anon, of course the US government (Congress+Supreme Court+lobbyists) isn't interested in questioning copyright's assumed constitutional sanction, nor is it thus interested in recognising that annulling the right to copy or speak another's words abridges the individual's liberty.

I also doubt it's interested in questioning the wisdom of recognising corporations as equivalent to human beings.

However, it seems The People are becoming ever more interested in these corruptions.

Don't forget that the power provided to the government by the Constitution comes from The People.

So it is The People who are interested to know why copyright is in apparent conflict with their liberty.

Eventually, we'll realise that you can't have both the right to liberty and the privilege of derogating from it. One of them is not like the other. One of them couldn't be recognised, but had to be granted - unconstitutionally.