Fun Friday – "Melancholy Elephants"
Science fiction author Spider Robinson wrote a brilliant story about copyrights 25 years ago, long before the ongoing fight we have today.
"Melancholy Elephants" won the 1983 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. It takes the continuing extension of copyright length to its natural eternal conclusion to the profound detriment of society. A powerful Senator in the story was swayed. What about our real Senators today?
Spider Robinson began writing professionally in 1972 and has written 33 books. His many awards include 3 Hugos, a nebula, and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
According to SafeMedia Corp., Clouseau is the only technology that ensures universal digital property copyright protection on campus. It unobtrusively halts all illegal P2P activity. It never interferes with legitimate network traffic including legal BitTorrent, email, and VoIP. Clouseau respects academic freedom, protects First Amendment rights, and never violates user privacy.
“Most importantly, compliance with copyright protection ensures that all members of the academic community—faculty, staff and students—respect the rights and privileges of all intellectual properties whether created on or off campus,” he said. “It is available today for installation and has already been tested at Florida Atlantic University.”