Archive for the ‘rick falkvinge’ Category

REVISITING THE PURPOSE OF THE COPYRIGHT MONOPOLY: SCIENCE AND THE USEFUL ARTS

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

If there’s one thing that needs constant reminding, it’s the explicit purpose of the copyright monopoly. Its purpose is to promote the progress of human knowledge. Nothing less. Nothing more. By Rick Falkvinge. While the copyright monopoly has many different origins that have come together under this umbrella of hodgepodge different ...

IT’S TIME TO DEBUNK THE MYTH THAT COPYRIGHT IS NEEDED TO MAKE MONEY - OR THAT IT EVEN MAKES MONEY

Wednesday, October 17th, 2012

One of the most persistent myths about the copyright monopoly has been that it’s needed to make money. This assertion turns out to be false for a very large number of observed cases, but the plural of anecdote is never statistics. So let’s look at some sound statistical evidence for ...

GET READY FOR ANOTHER 40 YEARS OF CORPORATE COPYRIGHT BULLSHIT

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

I was on a debate panel in Edinburgh, UK this week; a panel about the copyright monopoly conflict. I have had this feeling in my gut for some time, but it became clear on this panel: we’re going to be debating the same topics with the same arguments for another ...

HOW THE COPYRIGHT INDUSTRY DRIVES A BIG BROTHER DYSTOPIA

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

A political system fine-tuned to ensure its dominance. Lawsuits to frighten your opponents. State-manufactured dissent. State-sponsored culture. State-controlled media. State-run monopolies. The list goes on. Which industry is helping governments get all this? Rick Falkvinge explains how the loss of privacy will shift power to the State. All too often I ...

HISTORY SHOWS THAT COPYRIGHT MONOPOLIES PREVENT CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

We all too frequently hear that the copyright monopoly is supposed to encourage creativity and that the patent monopoly is supposed to encourage innovation. Most lawyers whose jobs depend on the belief in these myths even claim that the monopolies fulfill these functions to the letter. But when we look ...

IT’S TIME TO GO ON THE OFFENSIVE FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Last week’s collective action against the PIPA (Protect IP Act) and SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) bills in the United States was unprecedented and mighty. But have you noticed that we’re always on the defensive? We cannot win or even maintain our rights to free speech that way. By Rick ...

THE COPYRIGHT INDUSTRY - A CENTURY OF DECEIT

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

It is said that those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. In the case of the copyright industry, they have learned that they can get new monopoly benefits and rent-seeker’s benefits every time there is a new technology, if they just complain loudly enough to the legislators. ...

IT IS EVERYONE’S DUTY TO DEFY UNJUST LAWS

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

By Rick Falkvinge I sometimes hear people claim that laws exist to be followed. These people are the most dangerous people who exist in a society. Tyranny is never upheld through law; it is upheld through thousands of bureaucrats that follow the letter of the law just because they believe in ...