BBC: This is a very good article on copyright, as well as other forms of intellectual property. It starts off comparing a couple of very different politicians..."One was James Purnell, the MP for Stalybridge and Hyde who became Minister for the Creative Industries and Tourism after May's General Election...He shared what was by all accounts a remarkably pleasant meal at London's Royal Society of Arts with Gilberto Gil, the Brazilian guitarist and songwriter who happens to be his country's current Minister of Culture."
"The principles (of the charter of the RSA) go far beyond our current obsession with music downloads and movie piracy, and extend to tests for genetic predisposition to breast cancer, Aids drugs and other life-saving inventions that matter far more to humanity than being able to sample great music, even Gilberto Gil's."
"Effective change will only happen through the political process, even if the pressure for that change is created by technological innovations. And even if national policies are constrained by international agreement, change is possible. It just takes time and concerted effort."
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