this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2023
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You own the book and you own your copy of its contents, but you don't hold* the copyright.
Why do people have such a hard time phrasing it clearly like that, and instead say things like "you don't own the contents?"
(* A copyright is a temporary monopoly privilege granted by Congress. It isn't itself property and is therefore "held," not "owned.")
Is the ownership of property in general not also just a "temporary monopoly privilege granted by Congress" or whatever the local legal authority is? If there were no laws protecting property rights, backed up by the power of some sort of government, those property rights would be meaningless.
No, it's not. In stark and diametric contrast to copyright, ownership of actual property is a natural right.
Read the Constitution: copyright law has the express purpose "to promote the progress of science and the useful arts." It is nothing more than a means to that end. And in particular, it is absolutely not, in any way whatsoever, some sort of entitlement for creators.
I have seen a few of your arguments, and it sounds like you are being very pedantic, and are totally ignoring the big picture entirely.