These draconian laws like DMCA, SOPA, and copyright extensions that pushed though by the RIAA and MPAA are suppressing our creativity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk862BbjWx4 and are destroying our cultural heritage. http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/11/48625?cu... To top it off, their outdated business model leaches most of the money from the artists. http://www.salon.com/2000/06/14/love_7/ Copyright needs to be reformed. Some changes that I'd like to see are:

* Abolish the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

* Intellectual property should be taxed like real property. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oew-weaver20feb20,0,1... It is an asset with a value, right? If you no longer make enough to pay your taxes on it, it goes to the state to dispose of.

* Copyrights are supposed to be an incentive to create. One that lasts unto your grandchildren are a dis-incentive, because not only are you not creating any more once you are dead, neither are your descendants. Copyright should last half a working lifetime (20 years), to encourage people to continue to create.

* Someone who makes copies without permission should pay a fine, but it should be at the regular royalty rate for the item x copies made. So upload a song, it's iTunes price x number of downloads, with perhaps a factor of 3 penalty to discourage doing it, not $150,000 per copy.

If you care about copyright reform, you can donate money to the EFF or at least sign this petition urging reform. http://www.fightforthefuture.org/fixcopyright