Narrowly read, an Author or Inventor would retain exclusive rights and would only be allowed to grant a temporary and nonexclusive grant of that right to others.
An excellent argument.
Likewise, when the standard copyright term exceeds the median human lifetime, the 'limited time' effectively becomes 'forever.' One of the few things I like about the patent system is that the term is 20 years, which is a reasonable period of exclusivity for a genuinely patentable idea (vs. the abusive attempt to patent the obvious or prior art for litigation purposes).
> when the standard copyright term exceeds the median human lifetime, the 'limited time' effectively becomes 'forever.'
The Supreme Court has, unfortunately, ruled otherwise.
Lessig, in his retrospective on the Eldred case (term limits extension suit that went to SCOTUS) feels he should have focused on the promotion rather than limited terms clause.
Coulda shoulda woulda. Thanks for trying anyway, Larry.
An excellent argument.
Likewise, when the standard copyright term exceeds the median human lifetime, the 'limited time' effectively becomes 'forever.' One of the few things I like about the patent system is that the term is 20 years, which is a reasonable period of exclusivity for a genuinely patentable idea (vs. the abusive attempt to patent the obvious or prior art for litigation purposes).