Too quick to copyright?

Man, does this paper by Jason Mazzone of Brooklyn Law School resonate, or what? "Too Quick to Copyright" expresses the idea that, sure teenagers flaunt copyright, but then so do businesses. I'm already biased having recevied a takedown notice from big-business lawyers in the recent Diebold memos case (in which Diebold has been claiming copyright on works that they never intended to publish). Here's a taste:

[...]

Copyright law gives corporations an irresistible urge to claim ownership, however spurious, in everything. The Copyright Act provides no penalty for falsely claiming ownership in public domain materials, and there is no reward for catching this form of cheating. So corporations stick copyright notices everywhere. And while the U.S. Copyright Office registers copyrighted works, there is no official registry for works belonging to the public.

[...]

Posted by joebeone at Noviembre 20, 2003 05:21 PM