In another day at the office, the Belgian Court has determined that Google illegally copied news on their website. The interesting bit about this is that there is no actual proof that violating copyright actually harms authors’ livelihood. In fact, copyright was first enforced by the Worshipful Company of Stationers one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. This company was not an altruistic organization set aside to protect the rights of the starving artist. It was a monopoly created to squeeze profit from the printed word. Next time you hear someone spouting the party line about how, like Metallica, they are going broke because of file-sharing, remember artist make almost nothing because the neo-Guilds are still running the show under the banner of flag of corporate logos.
Oh yeah, and copyright is always becoming stricter and stricter. No court ever rules against the corporate interests. (That’s the whole “business as usual” part.) Oh yeah, and what was up with Metallica, those hard-rocking heroes, whining about their lost profits. Oooh, they are so tough. So dangerous…