Jake's View | Reasons to applaud filibuster of ‘chokehold’ copyright bill

Filbustering has detracted from the goal of putting our city on a par with international standards, notwithstanding the consensus that due copyright protection is the cornerstone of innovation and creativity for any economy.

Letters to the editor, January 26

The other day I went to see the latest Star Wars movie, and emerged from the cinema amazed. Here was that rare thing, a work of art without a single original idea to call its own.

Don’t get me wrong. I like seeing good movies again and I have always rated the original Star Wars highly. The remake had the additional benefit of 40 years of improvement in movie-making technology.

But creativity? Innovation? Sorry, the score on that count is nil, zip, zero, which is odd when you consider that it was a Disney production and Disney is one of the world’s loudest voices clamouring for copyright protection to promote innovation and creativity. The US Congress has even rewritten its copyright rules at Disney’s behest.

Consider also the one-time giant of the software industry, Microsoft. I think of it as a one client law firm with an exclusive focus on copyright law, vigilantly guarding its patch against anyone who would jump over its fence.