<Quote>
Some of the world's greatest artworks are turning into copyrighted
properties.Five hundred years ago, Michelangelo painted the Sistine
Chapel ceiling. Today, those images are copyrighted. How can ancient
cultural icons become commercial properties, centuries after they fall
into the public domain?
How this happened is a story that takes us from a Crusading Pope in
the Borgias era, all the way to Bill Gates' mansion on the shores of
Lake Washington....
[History of Sistine Chapel frescoes and restoration...leads up to
Gates' company Corbis...]
Ultimately, it should not be surprising that a monopolist like Bill
Gates discovered a clause in copyright law that allowed him to acquire
a new monopoly. All monopolies ultimately derive from copyrights or
patents granted by government. There is essentially no difference
between a monopoly on artworks by Corbis, or a monopoly on computer
operating systems by Microsoft.
In a video interview on CNN in March 2006, Gates outlined his vision
of Corbis as a commercial hub for image transactions, proposing a
system of Digital Rights Management for images. You can see the video
here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5T64dgw8n0).
Whatever Gates touches, he makes into an expression of his personal
business philosophy. The same provisions of copyright law apply to
cultural institutions as well as robber barons, the only difference is
how those laws are exploited.
Copyright laws are fine, and work for, not against, the public
interest. The ability to exploit the rights to Michelangelo's original
work permitted a new masterpiece to emerge. But copyright only works
if we can rein in the robber barons. ®
</Quote>
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/27/how_to_copyright_michelangelo/print.html
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