Copyrights? © © © ©

© I was reading some material about copyrights on a government site after a discussion with some musicians about making copies of musical scores. Buried in small print, I discovered an interesting concept that I had not realized before, and I think most people have the same mistaken concept as I did.

© I thought that copyrights (and patents for that matter) were established to protect the rights of the original creator. I thought the goal was that he will be allowed the opportunity to profit from or at least control the use of the original material, and to prevent others from doing so.

© That seems very logical, and indeed is the effect, but believe it or not, it is not the base reason the copyright laws were created, and continue to exist. It is not about the individual, but the society.

© The real reason is to insure that the creative process is encouraged, not discouraged in our society. A system that stifles or slows down innovation would be bad for all. Copyright laws are just a means to that end, and may not be the only way to do it.

© The idea is that if people do not have a reasonable chance to profit from their work, they would not do it. That is a very capitalistic and intellectually sound concept, but not a universal truth. For instance, monks in the renaissance created beautifully crafted Biblical paintings and scrolls with neither copyright protection nor stimulation by the profit motive.

© As we re-think the laws, updating for the new technologies and the digital age, these concepts will come into play.