<div dir="ltr">The very first copyright law in the US was officially called "<b><font color="#ff0000">An Act for the Encouragement of Learning</font></b>." Indeed, that was the actual stated purpose of copyright law at the time. It wasn't supposed to be a system for protecting the revenue of artistic folks. In fact, it didn't even cover most artistic works at the time. It was limited to "maps, charts and books." Music? Not protected. Paintings? Not protected. Sculpture? Not protected. That's because it wasn't about artwork, but about the spread of knowledge through learning.<div>
<br><a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140115/11022325887/copyright-week-open-access-as-antidote-to-privatizing-federally-funded-knowledge.shtml">http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140115/11022325887/copyright-week-open-access-as-antidote-to-privatizing-federally-funded-knowledge.shtml</a></div>
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