more on Persuading People With Reason (was: Click at your own risk)

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jay Fenello <Jay () Fenello com>
Date: August 4, 2004 3:37:40 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: farber () cis upenn edu, awpd () yahoogroups com
Subject: Persuading People With Reason (was: Click at your own risk)



At 8/4/2004  01:27 PM, David Farber wrote:
> From: Barry Ritholtz <ritholtz () optonline net>
> Date: August 3, 2004 10:46:51 PM EDT
>
> The issue between Apple and Real only tangentially touches upon the 
> most significant problem of copyright law: Its a mess. It may have 
> originally been created to encourage the creative arts, but its now 
> run completely amuck. Its been taken over by large corporate 
> interests, applied directly inapposite to the original purpose.
>
> And since I do not practice law any longer, I can freely say what 
> practicing lawyers cannot:  The Supreme Court blew it. Was it through 
> sheer incompetence? An incorrect reading of the original intent of the 
> framers? Are they simply to old to understand new technology?


Dr. Larry Lessig was on the Charlie Rose
show the other night.  He had recently argued
a landmark Supreme Court case that resulted
in Congress receiving virtually unlimited
authority to extend Copyrights *forever*
-- exactly the *opposite* of his goal!

He had been concerned about the way big
corporations had been acquiring copyrights,
then persuading Congress to extend them --
a process placing increasing restrictions
on the uses of creative works, resulting
in a world of greatly diminished freedoms.

I know Dr. Lessig from our respective roles
in the establishment of Internet Governance.
He was one of the few leaders, in my opinion,
who understood the issues, and took positions
on the right side of the debate.  I've always
respected him for that -- as I respect him for
the comments he made on Charlie Rose.

He described how this ruling came about, and
its consequence -- how there is nothing now
to restrict the continuing dealings of the
big corporations and Congress.

When asked what he could have done different,
Larry lamented not using a more emotional
appeal in his arguments.  He speculated that
it might have persuaded one of the judges
who had argued for the majority position.

I couldn't help but think back to the fight
over Internet Governance.  In both cases,
the powers that be made decisions that seem
to benefit the few, at the expense of the
many.

At one point in the interview, Larry shared
a quote on "persuading people with reason,"
which he described as one of the primary
responsibilities of an attorney.

When considering Larry's goal to persuade
the Supreme Court to uphold the highest
ideals of the Constitution, I wondered:
Can people be persuaded with reason?

Having spent the last 5 years exploring this
question, I currently believe the answer is
a resounding NO.  While it is true that some
people can be influenced with reason, many
others are stuck in entrenched patterns.

How could a majority of the Supreme Court
Justices allow the unlimited extensions of
copyrights?  How could the Commerce Department
allow the corrupt dealings of ICANN to take
over the initial functions of Internet
Governance?

In each case, the individuals involved were
making perfectly rational decisions, given
their belief systems and entrenched patterns
-- decisions that either create, or enable, 
virtually all of the problems that exist
in our world today.

If we want an end to war, or terrorism,
or repressive governments and/or policies,
environmental degradation and unsustainable
growth, we must find a way to break through
these entrenched patterns that people have
inherited.

We must help people to Wake Up.

Anyway, that's where I'm at today.

I remain open to other opinions,
however, so comments welcome ...

Jay.


> Regardless, they have made a hash of what should be a relatively 
> simple interpretation. We will be feeling the impact of their 
> incompetance globally for decades. Oh, and Australia was just 
> strongarmed into changing their copyright law to suit the U.S.
>
> The results of this are actually laughable:  Aussie iPod owners are 
> not legally allowed to transfer the songs from CDs they bought 
> (legally) to thier iPods.
>
> Simply outrageous.
>
> Heres an excerpt:
>
> "Click at your own risk"
> Julian Lee
> The Sydney Morning Herald, August 3, 2004 (annoying registration
> required)
> http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/02/1091432115074.html? 
> oneclick=true
<snip>


+++

Jay Fenello, 678-585-9765
http://www.Fenello.com ... Startup Coaching
http://www.YourWebPartner.com ... Web Site Support
http://www.AligningWithPurpose.org ... For a Better World
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