[pp.int.general] Purpose of copyright

[Richard M. Stallman]

http://int.piratenpartei.de/Pirate_Manifesto_parties_at_a_glance,
for Denmark, says

    The official aim of the copyright system has always been to find a
    balance between the interests of publishers and consumers,

Traditional statements of the purpose of copyright have not generally
mentioned the interests of _publishers_ as a goal.  It is rather the
_authors_ whose interests they cite.

People do often say that the goal is a balance between the interests
of authors and those of readers.  But I think that this idea of
"balance" elevates the authors too much: they do not deserve to be
given the same importance as the readers.  For more explanation, see
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/misinterpreting-copyright.html.

I argue that copyright primarly exists to serve the interests
of the readers.

To refer to the readers as "consumers" adopts a rather narrowly
economic viewpoint on copyright.  If we think that it is not solely an
economic issue, we might do well to avoid the term "consumers".

Moreover, the fact that using a work of authorship does not consume it
is a crucial basic point for our arguments.