Coming soon: the next phase of copyright maximalism – destroying the public domain – Walled Culture

"The public domain is the natural state of creative material. It’s where creations end up once copyright’s monopoly has expired. Crucially, it is the quid pro quo for that monopoly. The deal is that the creator of a work is granted a government-enforced intellectual monopoly for a limited period, after which the work enters the public domain for anyone to use for any purpose, including commercial ones. That’s the bargain, but it seems that the copyright maximalists in the French Parliament want to renege on it. Here’s an amendment to a finance bill that was proposed by 75 politicians in the National Assembly a few days ago (translation by DeepL):

The aim of this amendment is to increase aid to artistic creation by setting up a levy on the lucrative commercial use of works in the public domain....

Fortunately, the amendment has been withdrawn – perhaps as a result of the cries of horror from a wide range of organisations and experts. But make no mistake, this will not be a one-off...."