Who's been jailed for singing Happy Birthday? How many people have been jailed for copyright violations at all?
If you're arguing that copyright length should be shortened, I strongly agree.
If you're arguing that we should eliminate copyright completely because we should only regulate things you would immediately throw people in jail for, I strongly disagree.
As a society we need to be able to regulate some behavior that is not severe enough for jail time on its own, or for most standard offenses, even if the state ultimately has the power of incarceration to punish non-compliance. Just because moderately speeding shouldn't land you in jail, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't have speed limits.
There is such a thing as criminal copyright infringement, so it isn’t no one. Generally the conduct is pretty egregious for it to be a criminal rather than civil matter.
Wait but one of the main legal complaints about 21st century IP regimes is that they criminalize what was previously private tortious behavior. That's why the DMCA still rankles so many people.
“The jury convicted Dallman, Courson, Garcia, Jaurequi, and Huber of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.”
This was just today.
Deadline: “Operators Of Jetflicks, An Illegal Streaming Service With A Catalog Larger Than Netflix, Prime Video And Hulu Put Together, Convicted By Federal Jury”
We’re specifically talking about singing Happy Birthday in public, not offering 182,000 titles ripped from mainstream networks and other streaming services and then charging $9.99 to $19.99/month and making millions.
If you're arguing that copyright length should be shortened, I strongly agree.
If you're arguing that we should eliminate copyright completely because we should only regulate things you would immediately throw people in jail for, I strongly disagree.
As a society we need to be able to regulate some behavior that is not severe enough for jail time on its own, or for most standard offenses, even if the state ultimately has the power of incarceration to punish non-compliance. Just because moderately speeding shouldn't land you in jail, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't have speed limits.