This [EDIT: referring to attribution] was previously on an old version of the PPNZ wiki Copyright page (linked), however I've shifted it (along with other things) to the discussion section of the PPNZ wiki Policy page (linked). I thought it seemed like a policy item, so would probably be more appropriate on the Policy page (whereas the Copyright page seemed largely centred around the origin and development of copyright), however I didn't want to put it straight up on the Policy page without allowing discussion first as I understand the Policy page carries a bit more weight than some of the other pages. As stated in the Auckland Chapter's February 19 meeting (linked) we probably need to get on to making decisions on policy items like this. Personally I'm in favour of requiring attribution.

Now there's a title that's going to capture attention

Welcome to the birth of the information age. Just like all previous worldwide revolutions the only certainty is change. It would be a brave (idiotic) person indeed who calmly decrees absolute ideals this early into a new paradigm.

Who am I flaming here? Hopefully no one. Think of this as more of a slow simmer across the board. I think that this is one of the most important theoretical arguments to be beaten out as part of the NZPP as it targets the core of the party fundamentals.

What are the ideals behind a particular stand? What are the practicalities related to those ideals? Get the first bit wrong and you end up at the wrong destination. Get the second bit wrong and you'll never get there.

What is the ideology that drives this party? Where are we right now in comparison to this end ideology? How are we going to get from here to there?

My views for the record

- We have some very good clarity on our starting point right now. The PPNZ was formed as a reaction to the manuevers on the part of the old world industrialist clicque who are increasingly desperate to maintain the status quo.

- Our destination is less clear. I'd personally argue that we won't know the 'best' destination point wrt copyright until we get there. Why? Because the information age is still so new that we can only guess at what is 'best'.

- How are we going to get there? Our first stop is to contest the next election. Make no mistake. In doing this we have clearly targeted a goal of gaining the "popular" vote. Regardless of ideology / destination the goal right now is to form a message that mirrors popular opinion. The trick here is to do so without looking like we are selling out

My suggestion is to use this forum to discuss the creation of a mission statement. As with all mission statements in needs to be sufficiently wishy washy to encompass a range of ideologies thus preventing infighting and accusations of selling out. A good start would be...

"The pursuit of..."

Why? because it allows us to express higher ideals without having to immediately conform to an unpopular or unpalatable hardline.

As far as copyright, the original title of the Statue of Anne (what you might call the mother of all copyright law) was "An act for the Encouragement of Learning" .. not an act for the enrichment of publishers. The value of ideas is in the spreading, if you create something wonderful that nobody ever sees or knows about then you've just wasted your time. If you create something that improves the lives of billions of people even just a little bit, you've made a significant contribution to humanity.

So there's (perhaps) some merit in copyright to encourage the creation of new work, but not so much copyright that it restricts the distribution and creates a divide between those who can afford learning and culture, and those who can't..

+1

It reminds people what copyright was originally all about and should be open enough to appeal to all party members.

It also allows the party enough leeway to form a strategy suitable for taking to the polls.

I had a quick look through the party FAQ. This part inspired me.



I wonder if a good description of PPNZ would be "Champions of the information age". It highlights the fact that the party was formed because of the actions taken by groups such as the recording industry trying to protect and extend the interests of the industrial age.

For me this covers copyright, patent and privacy. It also allows the party the opportunity to review and decide on whether or not to take positions on other core or related policy matters.

(Cynical hat on) It also allows us to push some major buttons with the voters. That is, copyright is about protecting large, faceless organisations at the expense of individual rights and freedoms.