#Copyright is limited in time. The intention of copyright is twofold; it has always been a tool to curtail the distribution of information and it has been intended to extend the period an author can monetise exclusively a work authored by this person.
When you look at the politics of copyright, it is very much companies who insist on exorbitant measures to prevent activities they find objectionable. As they are not the beneficiaries of copyright, authors are, it places them as censors of the web; money is their objective. When you look at the track record of these companies and the organisations set up by them to do their dirty work, you find a long list of them not making payments to the authors whose rights they claim to protect. A great example are the compilation albums; the individual authors, bands almost never get what Big Content ought to pay them.
The situation is so stupid that it has been proven time and again that the people who download "illegal" music or movies are the same people who spend money buying DVD's or going to the movies. This does not prevent this industry to insist that people are "stealing" and that they are losing money as a result.
Wikilivres is a website with a rich amount of content. It is based in Canada because the Canadian copyright laws are not as miserable as the USA laws are. The hosting has so far been done by a person, it has become too much of a burden. The hope is that the Canadian Wikimedia chapter will take over this wonderful project. It will give the Canadian chapter a reason to fight against the introduction of changes that will make the current Canadian copyright restrictions as obnoxious as the restrictions that prevail in their southern neighbour.
Thanks,
GerardM
