For Sarkozy and for many other French circles, culture is investment, is business and they try to protect it by methods of XIX century origin – so it is hard for them to see the exceptional character of the Web as the culture catalyser….

Well, my more general comment is that European culture is no longer the beacon it used to be. The worse is that so many here do not see it and try to pretend the Europe is still leading force of culture.

But, as we all know, this is not the way the true culture works and all these strange efforts (like that famous HADOPI law) are simply doomed….

Well, it is sad, but such is today’s reality and your negative perception of something that was meant to be the beacon to beacons – is quite veracious.

Queen Anne established the error of copyright in 1709, and James Madison compounded it in 1790. The people realised they could ignore it in 1970. All that remains is for it to be remedied, to be undone, to be abolished.

Perhaps make a new year’s resolution to cease pretending that the privilege of copyright was an author’s right? Either you’re proud to support copyright as a privilege, or you support its abolition to restore the people’s right to copy. Support slavery or liberty, but don’t pretend the former is about property and the latter, piracy.

What we fail to learn from history is that we are doomed to repeat it.