Ouch

Google's Senior Copyright Counsel, William F. Patry, does a smash-up job of summarizing the current state of copyright (particularly in the United States):

While one hears, constantly, corporate chieftains claiming that they're out there fighting for the creators, we all know that is b.s.: the creators are merely an expense item on a balance sheet, to be reduced as much as possible. We also hear politicians make similar paeans to creators, yet when was the last piece of legislation that was passed that benefited creators at the expense of corporations? When was the last time you heard a government official suggest such a thing?

William F. Patry via BoingBoing