no-ip-ethos.html (8993B)
1 <!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> 2 <!-- Parent-Version: 1.96 --> 3 <!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html --> 4 <!--#set var="TAGS" value="essays laws noip" --> 5 <!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" --> 6 <title>Don't Let “Intellectual Property” Twist Your Ethos 7 - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> 8 <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/no-ip-ethos.translist" --> 9 <!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> 10 <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/ph-breadcrumb.html" --> 11 <!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE--> 12 <!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" --> 13 <div class="article reduced-width"> 14 <h2>Don't Let “Intellectual Property” Twist Your Ethos</h2> 15 16 <address class="byline">by <a href="https://www.stallman.org/">Richard 17 Stallman</a></address> 18 19 <p><i>June 09, 2006</i></p> 20 21 <p>Most free software licenses are based on copyright law, and 22 for good reason: Copyright law is much more uniform among 23 countries than contract law, which is the other possible 24 choice.</p> 25 26 <p>There's another reason not to use contract law: It would 27 require every distributor to get a user's formal assent to the 28 contract before providing a copy. To hand someone a CD without 29 getting his signature first would be forbidden. What a pain in 30 the neck!</p> 31 32 <p>It's true that in countries like China, where copyright law is 33 generally not enforced, we may also have trouble enforcing free 34 software license agreements, as Heather Meeker suggests in her 35 recent <cite>LinuxInsider</cite> column, “<a 36 href="https://linuxinsider.com/story/only-in-america-copyright-law-key-to-global-free-software-model-50421.html">Only 37 in America? Copyright Law Key to Global Free Software 38 Model</a>.”</p> 39 40 <p>However, this is not a reason to press for more copyright 41 enforcement in China. Although we would use it to protect 42 people's freedom, we have to recognize that mostly it would be 43 used by the likes of Microsoft, Disney and Sony to take it 44 away.</p> 45 46 <p>Ironically, we might have more success enforcing copyright in 47 China than Microsoft, Disney and Sony—because what we would 48 want to do is easier.</p> 49 50 <p>Disney wishes to stamp out semi-underground organizations that 51 sell exact copies. With free software, regardless of precisely which 52 free license is used, that kind of copying is legal. What we want to prevent, 53 when the free software license is the 54 GNU <a href="/licenses/gpl.html">GPL</a>, is the release of 55 proprietary software products based on our code. That kind of abuse 56 is at its worst when carried out by large, well-known companies—and 57 they are easier targets for enforcement. So GPL 58 enforcement in China is not a lost cause, though it won't be 59 easy.</p> 60 61 <h3>No Chinese Laundry</h3> 62 63 <p>Nonetheless, Meeker's claim that this leads to a global 64 problem is simply absurd. You can't “launder” 65 material copyrighted in the U.S. by moving it through China, as 66 she ought to know.</p> 67 68 <p>If someone violates the GNU GPL by distributing a nonfree 69 modified version of GCC in the U.S., it won't make any difference 70 if it was obtained or modified in China. U.S. copyright law will 71 be enforced just the same.</p> 72 73 <p>Although this error might seem to be the central point of 74 Meeker's article, it is not. The real central point of the article 75 is the perspective embodied in her use of the term 76 “intellectual property.” She uses this term pervasively 77 as though it refers to something coherent—something it makes 78 sense to talk about and think about. If you believe that, you have 79 accepted the article's hidden assumption.</p> 80 81 <h3>Loose Language</h3> 82 83 <p>Sometimes Meeker switches between “intellectual 84 property” and “copyright” as if they were two 85 names for the same thing. Sometimes she switches between 86 “intellectual property” and “patents” as if they were 87 two names for the same thing. Having studied those two laws, 88 Meeker knows they are vastly different; all they have in common 89 is an abstract sketch of their form.</p> 90 91 <p>Other “intellectual property” laws don't even 92 share that much with them. The implication that you can treat 93 them all as the same thing is fundamentally misleading.</p> 94 95 <p>Along with the term “intellectual property” goes a 96 false understanding of what these laws are for. Meeker speaks of 97 an “ethos” of “intellectual property” 98 that exists in the U.S. because “intellectual property is 99 in the Constitution.” That's the mother of all 100 mistakes.</p> 101 102 <p>What is really in the U.S. Constitution? It doesn't mention 103 “intellectual property,” and it says nothing at all 104 about most of the laws that term is applied to. Only two of 105 them—copyright law and patent law—are treated there.</p> 106 107 <p>What does the Constitution say about them? What is its ethos? 108 It is nothing like the “intellectual property ethos” 109 that Meeker imagines.</p> 110 111 <h3>Failure to Execute</h3> 112 113 <p>What the Constitution says is that copyright law and patent law 114 are optional. They need not exist. It says that if they do exist, 115 their purpose is to provide a public benefit—to promote 116 progress by providing artificial incentives.</p> 117 118 <p>They are not rights that their holders are entitled to; they 119 are artificial privileges that we might, or might not, want to 120 hand out to encourage people to do what we find useful.</p> 121 122 <p>It's a wise policy. Too bad Congress—which has to carry 123 it out on our behalf—takes its orders from Hollywood and 124 Microsoft instead of from us.</p> 125 126 <p>If you appreciate the U.S. Constitution's wisdom, don't let 127 “intellectual property” into your ethos; don't let 128 the “intellectual property” meme infect your 129 mind.</p> 130 131 <p>Practically speaking, copyright and patent and trademark law 132 have only one thing in common: Each is legitimate only as far as 133 it serves the public interest. Your interest in your freedom is a 134 part of the public interest that must be served.</p> 135 </div> 136 137 </div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> 138 <!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> 139 <div id="footer" role="contentinfo"> 140 <div class="unprintable"> 141 142 <p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to 143 <a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. 144 There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> 145 the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent 146 to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> 147 148 <p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, 149 replace it with the translation of these two: 150 151 We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality 152 translations. 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