April 25, 2005 | Filed under:

This column by James Boyle in the FT is a very good summary of the copyright panic that is sweeping the globe.  The next time someone asks me what the problem with copyright is, I will send them this link. Here’s a frightening statistic to pull you in:

“Since only about 4 per cent of copyrighted works more than 20 years old are commercially available, this locks up 96 per cent of 20th century culture to benefit 4 per cent. The harm to the public is huge, the benefit to authors, tiny. In any other field, the officials responsible would be fired. Not here.”

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