If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of everyone, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it. Its peculiar character, too, is that no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them, like fire, expansible over all space, without lessening their density in any point, and like the air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being, incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation. Inventions then cannot, in nature, be a subject of property.- Thomas Jefferson
The progress of international conglomerates and corporations to block and curb the spread of everything from music to games to artwork still rampages across the globe. Not only that, but the entire concept of freedom is under threat. Not by conglomerates or corporations perhaps, but the united power of such, from which blossoms the hideous flower of ACTA.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is not just a special lobbyist group or a loose band of special interest groups to try and lessen the impact of piracy on the shareholders' profits. It is much more than that. The Deliberative Draft of ACTA is by no means some angelic choir that protects the rights of artists or developers. It is a gathering of copyright owners and lawyers who seek to breach the freedom and security of regular people under the guise of the good guys.
ACTA seeks to bypass national laws and international agreements by using the copyright ace card. It's not worrying that it exists, it's worrying that politicians are actually going for it. The full exposure of any possible copyright infringements revealed to copyright holders will only give massive amounts of useless information to corporations who... well, what would they do with such information?
The EU political system has very much already approved the ACTA. It's been done in full silence without the knowledge of the citizens of EU member nations, without even mention in any of the respectable large news outlets. Such a shame.
The ACTA has been challenged by a number of European law professors who state that the treaty is not compatible with EU laws and statutes. Neverminding such frivolous little facts as national integrity, it is still pushed through.
The entire concept of working in the name of freedom and transparency and keeping all negotiations secret is ludicrous. An agreement made in secret and kept as secret will not strengthen the judicial standing of anyone but those who have signed ACTA.
The world is looking more and more like System Shock.
This worries me.
A very good source of information on ACTA and the progress of it's quest for infringement of personal rights and liberties.