graphic at the bottom of our course home page. I grant others the right to copy and use this material for non-commercial purposes as long as they acknowledge the source. Creative Commons has many alternative licenses the U. S. and other nations.
This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don't give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do.In the United States, when you create something novel, for example a new song or program, you automatically own its copyright (the right to make copies). Copyright is based on the Constitution. Article I enumerates the powers of Congress, including Section 8:
The Congress shall have power ... To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveriesNote that the goal is to "promote the progress of science and useful arts." That should be the goal of Congress in writing intellectual property laws.
Stanford law professor Larry Lessig has argued that Congress has not acted to promote progress, but to protect powerful copyright holders. He points out that copyright duration was 14 years in 1790, but Congress has revised that frequently. Since 1962, copyright duration has been extended 11 times, and it now stands at the life of the author plus 40 years. Lessig calls the latest extension the "Mickey Mouse protection act" since copyright terms seem to be extended whenever Mickey Mouse is about to enter the public domain.
Lessig favors copyright to encourage progress, but feels it has been abused. When you create something, it is automatically covered by full copyright, all rights reserved. To assist those who, like Woodie Guthrie, would like to relinquish some of those rights, Lessig has established the Creative Commons. You may have noticed the Creative Commons graphic at the bottom of our course home page. I grant others the right to copy and use this material for non-commercial purposes as long as they acknowledge the source. Creative Commons has many alternative licenses the U. S. and other nations.
New technology like the Xerox copier, video tape recorder and the Internet raise questions concerning intellectual property, and the Internet is no exception. Incumbent copyright holders are typically threatened (although the often end up profiting from the new technology). Strong supporters for copyright include:
You can see and hear Lessig's presentation on this topic and also read the transcript.