We are all pirates
The goal of copyright is to encourage production of creative works which
enrich society. This is achieved by granting authors temporary monopoly over
their work, at a cost to society. Society accepts this cost because it gains
new material from when the monopoly ends.
This is the arrangement copyright law enforces, and it has worked until now.
It is my opinion that today's copyright laws are severely biased towards
authors to the detriment of society; that society is not currently well served
by these laws.
In evidence of my claim I present the song "Happy Birthday to you". This song
was created in 1893, copyrighted in 1935 and is presently the property of Warner
Music Group, who collect royalties of about \$5000 a day for public
performances, and will continue to do so until about 2030.
Warner Music Group insists that any public performance requires a royalty.
Effectively it means most of us have been "pirates" on one or more occasions.
The "temporary monopoly" over the song "Happy Birthday to You" has persisted
through two generations and two World Wars. It has persisted while we walked
on the Moon and explored Mars. Today, 116 years after its conception, we still
can not sing "Happy Birthday to You" in the streets without becoming
a "pirate".
We need to change the status quo. We need a political party that will restore the spirit and purpose of copyright.
The recording industry will call the people of this party "pirates". And so be
it: it shall be a party of "pirates" and it will be called,
Pirate Party Australia
Cheers,
Steve
P.S. I am not affiliated with PPAU, and I certainly do not speak for them.