Another "limited times" thought
Another thought on
"limited times":
The following is
not a strong argument, because the legal contexts aren't identical.
But I think there's a kernel of an idea here. Is there
a way to have
"
limited times" be thought of in the same
manner as the Constitution's Fourth Amendment prohibition against
"unreasonable searches and seizures", or the Eight Amendment
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."?
Those prohibitions would be nullified in practice if one adopted the view that "unreasonable" is up to Congress to determine, or "excessive", "cruel", "unusual", are all purely a matter of legislative discretion. Though a problem here is on occasion, that very nullification may arguably have happened.
Another obvious flaw here is that those prohibitions are restrictions, but the copyright clause is a grant of power, so they can't be treated identically.
So I'm not putting forth that this ideas works as stated. But maybe it'll inspire something better.
By Seth Finkelstein |
posted in copyblight
|
on October 08, 2002 11:54 PM
(Infothought permalink)
