The history of copyright law is quite interesting, especially its origins. This quote from Thomas Jefferson is particularly interesting:
If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive
property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an
individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the
moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and
the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it.
...
That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the
moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to
have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them,
like fire, expansible over all space, without lessening their density in any
point, and like the air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being,
incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation. Inventions then cannot, in
nature, be a subject of property.
That said, Jefferson was one of the framers of the Constitution, which gave Congress the power to create copyright and patent laws in the first place. It's important to note the language used in the Constitution, though: "To promote the progress of the arts and sciences..."
It wasn't about giving property rights to creators -- it was about incentivizing them. The framers saw this as a tradeoff. The public would endure the "evil" of letting creators monopolize profits on their ideas. But in return, there would be more ideas created, and these ideas would become public property after a short time, anyway. Jefferson continued:
Society may give an exclusive right to the profits arising from them, as an
encouragement to men to pursue ideas which may produce utility, but this may or
may not be done, according to the will and convenience of the society, without
claim or complaint from anybody. Accordingly, it is a fact, as far as I am
informed, that England was, until we copied her, the only country on earth
which ever, by a general law, gave a legal right to the exclusive use of an
idea. In some other countries it is sometimes done, in a great case, and by a
special and personal act, but, generally speaking, other nations have thought
that these monopolies produce more embarrassment than advantage to society; and
it may be observed that the nations which refuse monopolies of invention, are
as fruitful as England in new and useful devices.
You're mixing patent ("idea") with copyright ("property"), but perhaps that's not a bad thing. I don't think copyright is hopeless (as pg implies), but I do think patents are fundamentally broken. So bear with me:
The copyright debate should be reframed in the context of expanding the notion of Fair Use. The definition of "property" isn't shifting, but people's behavior in regards to what they perceive to be Fair Use of property most certainly is. When a fan posts ("NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED") in the description of an infringing NASCAR clip on YouTube, that's what he's trying to say. It has nothing to do with piracy or property.
Likewise, there's no such thing as Fair Use for patents. But some reasoned debate there is likely to achieve change far more quickly than any attempt to blow up the patent system.
Copyrights and patents -- in US law at least -- derive from the same sentence in the Constitution:
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
Discoveries.
"Authors" and "Writings" became copyrights, and "Inventors" and "Discoveries" became patents. They are indeed two different things, but the theory and purpose behind each of them are the same.
---
The trouble with trying to attack this problem from the Fair Use angle is that it's... well... backwards. We shouldn't begin with super-strict copyright law and pick away at the edges with rules like Fair Use. Instead we should begin with almost no copyright law, and then add what few protections are needed.
Remember: The point is simply to promote progress. Anything behind that is excessive.
Unfortunately the Constitution eventually meets the road: Copyrights and Patents -- in US law -- derive from Acts of Congress.
If you think there's any chance of repealing that stuff and going back to Jefferson's quaint musings on the topic I think you're misguided. There's simply no way to frame an argument on the nature of "property." Nobody understands it and Congress ain't budging anyway.
But Fair Use is inherently flexible, arguable and relatable by the guy who uploads NASCAR highlights he doesn't own to YouTube.
Read up on the DMCA's Fair Use exemptions and the EFF's numerous victories. And think about it in the context of current culture. You're never going to mobilize nascarfan83 to read up on law, but you can probably get him to sign a petition that clips under 20 seconds are okay on YouTube.
I agree with you. I think we're talking about two different things, though. My goals are... well "goals" is a little ambitious of a word. How about: What I would like to see is a complete reform of copyright law. Or, at the very least, the decriminalization of file-sharing. Anything less, and the battle isn't over.
I don't expect nascarfan83 to read up on law. Landmark decisions that affect the interpretation of the (and, indeed, the legality of the law) tend to come from Supreme Court cases. And the justices on the Supreme Court are quite fond of reading up on old laws. :)
It wasn't about giving property rights to creators -- it was about incentivizing them. The framers saw this as a tradeoff. The public would endure the "evil" of letting creators monopolize profits on their ideas. But in return, there would be more ideas created, and these ideas would become public property after a short time, anyway. Jefferson continued: