[CALIBK12] FW: Copyright and Wrongs || The Economist Debate Series ||Now Open

[Pilling, George]

An interesting topic for librarians:


George Pilling
District Library Media Supervisor
Visalia Unified School District
Visalia Learning Center
630 S. Atwood St.
Visalia  CA  93277
 
(559) 730-7349
FAX (559) 730-7693
gpilling at visalia.k12.ca.us
http://visalia.k12.ca.us/library

"McKiernan, Gerard [LIB]" <gerrymck at IASTATE.EDU> 5/5/2009 10:14 AM
Colleagues/
Join The Debate !
/Gerry 
The Economist Debate Series || Copyright and Wrongs || Now Open 
Are draconian copyright laws restricting creativity and progress?
Motion: "This house believes that existing copyright laws do more harm
than good."
Live dates: May 5th-15th
Current round: Opening
Current voting: PRO 67% CON 33%

Dear Reader,
Today sees the start of our debate on copyright. Both our speakers have
posted their opening statements. They find little common ground, but
where do you stand on the issue?

Moderator's comments

Copyright strangles creativity. Copyright rewards originality. It is a
nuisance to the public and unduly enriches a few people. It is the
backbone of our knowledge economy that fuels progress. Hate it, love it,
break it, protect it; few people lack strong opinions about copyright
and its place in society. And the issues are only becoming more
contentious. A subject that has long been the purview of specialists has
now emerged into the sunlight of the public sphere. 

Can our debaters sway you in favour of their positions?

Pro: William Fisher
"By needlessly locking up portions of our cultural heritage, we also
needlessly curb cultural progress and opportunities for
self-expression." Read more:

http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBp8d0W1OIc0Mo0FmZA0EE 

Con: Justin Hughes
"To get both the desired amount and mix of expression, properly
calibrated copyright is the best tool." Read more:

http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBp8d0W1OIc0Mo0FmZB0EF 

Debate schedule
* May 5th - Opening arguments
* May 6th - Guest speaker John Kennedy, Chairman and CEO, IFPI, posts
* May 8th - Rebuttal arguments and guest speaker Dale Cendali, 
Intellectual Property Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Adjunct
Professor, Harvard Law School, posts
* May 11th - Guest speaker Jennifer M. Urban, Clinical Professor of Law
and Director of the Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic,
USC, posts
* May 13th - Closing arguments and guest speaker Jessica Litman, John F.
Nickoll Professor of Law and Professor of Information, University of
Michigan, posts 
* May 15th - Winner announcement
What do you think? Post your comments and vote now on Economist.com. 
You can also discuss the issues with friends via our Facebook page and
follow debate updates on Twitter.

Join debate:
[http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBp8d0W1OIc0Mo0FmZC0EG ]

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Twitter
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Kenneth Cukier
Debate Moderator
Tokyo Correspondent
The Economist


The Economist Newspaper Limited