Usability Views Article Details  home | timeline | recent | popular | e-reports | userati | books | about  Is copyright necessary? (14 Sep 2004) Finally, returning to the original question regarding the necessity of copyright, we come to different conclusions from commentators who advocate for the absolute necessity of this legal mechanism for the promotion of information. However, our conclusions are also at variance with those who advocate its abolition or at least a significant relaxation of current constraints. Rather, we suggest that copyright should be viewed in relation to other potential policy options and to the goals we wish to achieve in supporting intellectual production and distribution both nationally and internationally. As such, any adjustment to the level and degree of copyright protection must be considered in relation to decisions about trade, education, literacy and technology, to achieve and maintain an effective balance between promotion of new knowledge and a healthy public domain. Article URL: http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_9/maxwell/index.html Read 124 more articles from First Monday sorted by date, popularity, or title. Next Article: Lost in gallery space: A conceptual framework for analyzing the usability flaws of museum Web sites     This site is a labour of love built by Chris McEvoy