JD Lasica has some comments on Larry Lessig's speech on copyright at the TechSummit 2005 dinner organized by the Computer & Communications Industry Association at its annual gathering in Dana Point, Calif.:

He laid out three strategies for combating the closing in of the public commons:

1. We make clear we are against piracy.

2. We press for legislative reform -- not to repeal copyright but to return its length and scope to a reasonable length. Specifically, he endorsed the idea, proposed by some scholars, of taking the copy out of copyright. Instead, we ought to regulate distribution or commercial reproduction.

3. Congress should regulate derivative works to allow for creative expression by amateurs, as in the mash-ups that he and I showed off during the day.

But he acknowledged, "These are reforms that are impossible during the current political climate. We suffer from a sort of IP McCarthyism." Thus, the need for private reform that demonstrates how copyright ought to work.

Darknet: Lessig on 'Darknet' and the commons

While I may have issues with Lessig's positions from time to time, I completely agree with the above. Obviously the system has simply tilted too far in the wrong direction. We have IP in the hands of entities who have every interest in wringing every penny possible, and are trying to push their agenda as far as it will go - without accepting any return responsibility.

We really need to get the system to be a lot more rational. And I think it's going to happen, if it end up destroying the existing system to do it, well, sorry guys. You had your chance to fix it, and you decided you'd rather keep suing your customers and fighting progress, and pig out for a few more years.

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