And in the first chapter, eighth verse of the U.S. Constitution, it sayeth:
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;
Much is made among those enraged about the current state of Intellectual Property (that's an excellent essay, btw) in the United States about the difference between copyright and patents. And indeed, that's true, but they both have their birth in this sentence.
In both cases, the problem is clear--they are being in many ways profoundly abused. The important part is the purpose of the rule--"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts".
I put it to you, the reader: is suing people over what they've downloaded or uploaded to the internet promoting the progress of Art? How about censoring websites that share Art with wild abandon with the whole world?
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