[Ojc-announce] Re: [Newspoetry] good time to start boycotting amazon.com

[sigfried at shout.net]

Regarding principles of copyright: it might not be necessary to come up
with a law that has all the effects one would want, instead, it might
be better to promote principles that guide courts in deciding how to
apply copyright law.   For instance -- when there are disputes, favor
the interests of communities over individuals, and favor an individual's
efforts at self-sustenance over corporate or individual efforts to get
rich off ideas.  But i don't know if principles like that are promotable,
if courts would accept them.

In any case -- for people who want to encourage a loosening of copyright
law, especially as it applies to big companies, supporting this boycott
seems essential -- not so much because of the merits of the particular
boycott, but because this boycott is one of the few public actions one
can take at the moment to positively express a critique of burdensome
patents.

s