Comments on: Waxing lexical. Or maybe I mean waning. http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2008/04/30/waxing-lexical-or-maybe-i-mean-waning/ a blog about information Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:37:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Frymaster http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2008/04/30/waxing-lexical-or-maybe-i-mean-waning/comment-page-1/#comment-331719 Frymaster Fri, 02 May 2008 01:02:55 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/?p=1090#comment-331719 Let me muddy these gray waters even further. JK Rowling, essentially, is copyrighting language. She saying that these specific words - like muggles - aren't part of language but are her invention and can't be used except with her permission. But let's see her put the toothpaste back in the tube. Here I'm going out on a limb and relying on highly suspect memory but - when I did a short stint in political advocacy the major issue was laws surrounding genetically modified crops. If farmers bought genetically modified seeds, planted them, harvested the crop, saved some and replanted it the following year, they would have to pay royalties on the entire second generation of crops. That is copyrighting life. In both cases, it's a fool's errand to try to enforce these rights. Seeds will germinate in the spring, regardless of patent laws. Word muggle and the idea it represents, now that it's been released into the ecosystem of language, belongs to all of us, no matter how many lawsuits are brought. Let me muddy these gray waters even further. JK Rowling, essentially, is copyrighting language. She saying that these specific words – like muggles – aren’t part of language but are her invention and can’t be used except with her permission. But let’s see her put the toothpaste back in the tube.

Here I’m going out on a limb and relying on highly suspect memory but – when I did a short stint in political advocacy the major issue was laws surrounding genetically modified crops. If farmers bought genetically modified seeds, planted them, harvested the crop, saved some and replanted it the following year, they would have to pay royalties on the entire second generation of crops.

That is copyrighting life.

In both cases, it’s a fool’s errand to try to enforce these rights. Seeds will germinate in the spring, regardless of patent laws. Word muggle and the idea it represents, now that it’s been released into the ecosystem of language, belongs to all of us, no matter how many lawsuits are brought.

]]> By: Benjamin http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2008/04/30/waxing-lexical-or-maybe-i-mean-waning/comment-page-1/#comment-331091 Benjamin Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:43:27 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/?p=1090#comment-331091 Too true, there is an awful lot of work to be done. The is a big gap between what people commonly understand, and the legal reality. And the legal reality itself is pretty grey, and very varied by country (e.g. big differences in this area between UK and France). Larry Lessig’s TED talk is very interesting on this subject (Google will take you straight there). Too true, there is an awful lot of work to be done. The is a big gap between what people commonly understand, and the legal reality. And the legal reality itself is pretty grey, and very varied by country (e.g. big differences in this area between UK and France). Larry Lessig’s TED talk is very interesting on this subject (Google will take you straight there).

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