Posted by Bob Quintal on 12/08/06 00:22

"J. Clarke" <Jclarke.usenet@cox.net> wrote in
news:el7qqq026s7@news2.newsguy.com:

>
> Try <http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1a.html>.
>
Interesting issue with the following paragraph.

*Notable Dates in United States Copyright
*August 18, 1787
*James Madison submitted to the framers of the Constitution a
*provision to secure to literary authors their copyrights for a
*limited time.

in that the word literary isn't in the final draft, enshrined in
the Constitution.

Nor is it in the text of the first Copyright law, titled
"An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the
Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, "

Now learning is an important word in the title, because it sets
a context for securing the Copies.....
That context is that the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books must
contain knowledge which can be learned.

And that is the point I'm making, is that the original concept
of copyright was to incease the learning of Science, and useful
arts, which is the practical application of Science (today
called engineering), not to protect works of entertainment.

--
Bob Quintal

PA is y I've altered my email address.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

[Back to original message]