More Information on IPac's Principles
1. Creators of ideas and inventions have the right to be compensated for their work, but not to limit political expression, veto technological innovation, or restrict education and scientific research.
IPac believes that creators should be fairly compensated for their work. Large intellectual property holders, however, have started to misinterpret "compensation" as "absolute control." This mindset has led to a one-way ratchet of increasing entitlements for intellectual property-holders while the public's rights diminish.
For example, laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) have been used over and over again to stifle scientific research, silence political expression, and chill technical innovation. We believe that IP laws need to be reigned in to protect free expression, technical innovation, and robust democratic debate.
2. Intellectual property laws should be judged by their potential to foster new creativity, as required by the U.S. Constitution.
The U.S. Constitution explicitly states that intellectual property protections should last only "for limited times" and promote the progress of "science and the useful arts." In other words, valuable ideas and expressions are supposed to become part of the public domain, where everyone can enjoy and use them equally. However, rights-holders have an interest in extending the amount of time that they can exploit their work. This tension has created a situation where copyright and patent terms are extended retroactively, in spite of the Constitution's plain language.
For instance, it doesn't make sense to extend the copyright term on a work that was created 60 years ago. Its creator was likely compensated long before, and the extension certainly can't encourage her to make something that she has already produced. Meanwhile, the Constitution's promise that the work fall into the public domain is indefinitely deferred.
Intellectual property was meant to be an incentive to create work that the public can enjoy, not an ever-lengthening entitlement for rights-holders.
3. Intellectual property laws should be clear and explicit, so anybody can create without fear of lawsuits.
Today's IP law is a thicket of jargon that makes lawyers necessary for almost any creative act. Sampling music in a new song, combining movie clips for a film class, or even removing objectionable content from your lawfully purchased DVDs can draw the ire of rights-holders. Companies routinely use patents against small inventors and businesses that can't fight back. And since fighting even frivolous claims is terribly expensive, creators and innovators may self-censor rather than attract a lawsuit.
This kind of predatory intellectual property is bad for society. It chills artistic and political expression. It stops technical innovation that could benefit society. And it directly contradicts the purpose of intellectual property by ensuring that less work, not more, is produced by our creators. IPac supports policies that will clarify and expand the public's rights in intellectual property so that creators and innovators can thrive.