Copyright responsibility

In Too Quick to Copyright (pdf), Jason Mazzone of Brooklyn Law School writes about the responsibility corporations have when they make claims of ownership and the current overly confusing licensing issues.

Corporations are responsible if Americans, now equipped with all the tools of self-publishing, do not abide by copyright laws. After decades of claiming they own virtually everything in print, commercial publishers have made abiding by copyright law seem optional. If corporations with their teams of lawyers cannot distinguish between what is protected and what is free for public use, we can hardly expect teen-agers with their laptops to play by the rules.

It's short and well worth the read. [via IP]