Promoting Culture & Knowledge Through Copyright Reform

The Founding Fathers created our copyright laws to promote knowledge & culture by giving the creator a limited monopoly over their creations. Congress, under the influence of corporations, has extended the duration of that government granted monopoly to seventy years after the death of the creator. Increasingly corporations have sought broader laws to ensure that they control and profit from more of our culture. Through Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies they have locked down our culture, hindered sharing and criminalized their customers.

The Massachusetts Pirate Party will:

• limit the copyright to five years for electronic media and fourteen years for tangible objects,
• make sure that all non-commercial copying, sharing and remixing are legal and
• ban DRM software.

There is no reason for copyright to continue until 70 years after death.

Everyone must have equal access to the internet, and the Pirate Party will foster network neutrality so that internet service providers cannot give preferential treatment to preferred web sites and we oppose three strikes laws that ban anyone from using the internet because of copyright violations. The internet has the potential to be a new Library of Alexandria, if we don’t let corporations and government lock it down.