Z:gnu-www-ja-misinterpreting-copyright--db6730-This fundamental decision expl/en

This fundamental decision explains why copyright is not required by the Constitution, only permitted as an option&mdash;and why it is supposed to last for &ldquo;limited times.&rdquo; If copyright were a natural right, something that authors have because they deserve it, nothing could justify terminating this right after a certain period of time, any more than everyone's house should become public property after a certain lapse of time from its construction.