The very first words of Section 106 of the United States Copyright Act make all exclusive rights of the copyright owner "subject to" superior rights of the public, outlined in sections 107-122. For example, the exclusive right of the copyright owner to authorize copying is "subject to" everyone else's superior section 107 right to make fair use copies, and the exclusive right to distribute copies is "subject to" the superior section 109 right of the owner of a lawful copy to sell it, lend it or give it away. The word is being pirated by powerful copyright holding companies who impress upon lawmakers and the press the baseless notion that their rights are superior to the very same rights to which they are subject. That way, they can get away with using technological devices (like tethering copies to a single computer, or making copies self-destruct) to, for example, prevent people from exercising their superior right to lend, sell or give away perfectly legal copies to less fortunate persons who might never be able to pay full price for a new copy. They are the true copyright pirates.

submitted by John T. Mitchell

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