Interesting Legal Times article argues that the assertion of copyright where none exists and other abuses of copyright are the real cause behind the public's sharing-is-OK attitude as evidenced by the file-sharing networks.
Owning a copy is not the same as owning a copyright. Yet publishers routinely require their own authors who want to use reproductions of old diaries, maps, photographs, or other images long out of copyright to obtain a license from a library, museum, or other owner of a physical copy. While a picture may be worth a thousand words, many authors find this requirement too much trouble and just omit the image.
…many academic authors have faced the uphill battle of persuading their own publisher to let them include excerpts from the copyrighted works of others. Fair use is meant to allow and encourage such conversations among authors. However, publishers routinely edit out fairly used materials and require their authors to indemnify them against any claims for infringement.
(via Interesting People)
