Everybody's Vote Should Count Equally

Before The Monopoly Should Be Permitted, There Must Be Reason To Believe It Will Do Some Good - For Society, And Not Just For Monopoly Holders.

We Live In A World With "free" Content, And This Freedom Is Not An Imperfection. We Listen To The Radio Without Paying For The Songs We Hear; We Hear Friends Humming Tunes That They Have Not Licensed. We Tell Jokes That Reference Movie Plots Without The Permission Of The Directors. We Read Our Children Books, Borrowed From A Library, Without Paying The Original Copyright Holder For The Performance Rights.

The Popular Choice Is Not Elected As President.

Monopolies Are Not Justified By Theory; They Should Be Permitted Only When Justified By Facts. If There Is No Solid Basis For Extending A Certain Monopoly Protection, Then We Should Not Extend That Protection. This Does Not Mean That Every Copyright Must Prove Its Value Initially. That Would Be A Far Too Cumbersome System Of Control. But It Does Mean That Every System Or Category Of Copyright Or Patent Should Prove Its Worth. Before The Monopoly Should Be Permitted, There Must Be Reason To Believe It Will Do Some Good -- For Society, And Not Just For Monopoly Holders.

The Value Of "one Person, One Vote," The Value Of Equality, Is A Value That Was Given To Us More Than 50 Years Ago As A Central Part Of Our Constitutional Tradition. So, Under That Principle, We Ought To Be Applying The Same Standard Today That I Would Have Said We Should Have Applied A Year Ago.