Joe Clark on Copyright for Creators
Joe Clark is back in the contentious ground of drumming up a good controversy with the announcement he’s out to broaden the debate on copyright with an upcoming book – The Cranky Copyright Book. As yet unwritten, Joe’s determined attention to detail may just prove to offer up a couple of interesting alternatives to the copyright / copyleft trench warfare currently on the table.
I really don’t get what we have to lose with Joe’s input on this one, or why anyone would give a damn if they were convinced he’d fail to come up with something worthwhile. His ideas might suck, but so what. Joe might also come across a brilliant idea that sparks a breakaway lobby group. What we all have to agree is probably that something needs to kick the status quo in the ankle and run away, if only to be an ineffective voice of individuality in the wilderness. So hell yeah, great stuff Joe and I hope it pans out some income for you along the way. Go for it.
Because Joe Clark has a point – he’s got an extinsive history as an author, a journalist, and a very smart guy who’s read a lot of books. What else qualifies us to have an opinion on copyright? We don’t need a PhD in Law for this conversation to begin – we just need new ideas.
I’m not saying that Joe Clark will go out and create the question to the answer of the meaning of copyright and everything. I am saying he has every right to come up with new ideas and see how they fly. If they’re ideas that suck then market forces will probably prevail, but if they’re good then we should be open to the opportunity. I say give Joe a go…
