First draft.

diff --git a/blog/draft/2012-copyright-taxing.txt b/blog/draft/2012-copyright-taxing.txt
new file mode 100644 (file)
index 0000000..e085de7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/blog/draft/2012-copyright-taxing.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+Title: Can we get the tax office to help us put copyrighted works in the public domain?
+Tags: english, opphavsrett, freeculture
+Date: 2012-11-17 09:00
+
+<p>While working on a Norwegian translation of the Free Culture by
+Lawrence Lessig, which talk about the problems with todays copyright
+law and how it stifles creativity, one thing occurred to me.  The idea
+is to get the tax office to help us make more works enter the public
+domain and help us make it easier to clear rights to use copyrighted
+works.</p>
+
+<p>The idea is partly based on the argument that copyrighted works are
+intellectual property, but the core requirement is that copyrighted
+work have value and the tax office like to collect their share from
+any value in a country.  Sharing it here to let others comment on it
+and perhaps shoot it down.</p>
+
+<p>Most valuables are taxed by the government.  At least here in
+Norway, the amount of money you have, the value of our land property,
+the value of your house, the value of your car, the value of our
+stocks and other valuables are all added together.  If the tax value
+of these values exceed your debt, you have to pay the tax office some
+taxes for these values.  And copyrighted work have value.  It have
+value for the rights holder, who can earn money selling access to the
+work.  But it is not included in the tax calculations?  Perhaps it
+should?</p>
+
+<p>If the government want to tax copyrighted works, it will want a
+database of all the copyrighted works and who are the rights holders
+for the works, to be able to associate their values to the right
+citizen or company for tax purposes.  If such database exist, it will
+become a lot easier to find out who to talk to for clearing
+permissions to use a copyrighted work, which is a very hard operation
+with todays copyright law.</p>
+
+<p>If copyright causes the citizens to have to pay more taxes, they
+will have a small incentive to "disown" their copyright, and let the
+work enter the public domain or at least state (in the database) that
+they do not need to be consulted when clearing rights to use the work.
+This will make it even easier to clear rights, and also increase the
+amount of works that enter the public domain.</p>
+
+<p>The effect is that the tax office help us to get more work into the
+public domain and make it easier to get rights to use the works that
+have not yet entered the public domain.</p>
+
+<p>Why have this not happened yet?  I am sure the tax office would
+like to tax copyrighted works.</p>