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Comment by stackghost | Hacker News Reader

Perhaps Europe should put up a portal to bypass American copyright restrictions. Free speech, and all that.

Copyright was invented in England and was globalized by France by a treaty signed in Switzerland. The US didn’t join the treaty until 102 years later. Up until 1989 the Berne Convention was stronger than US copyright law.

That's a neat factoid, but my point was about repudiating the current boneheaded US foreign policy rather than anything to do with where copyright was invented.

And my point is I don’t know why “Europe” would want to evade law that was their entire idea to begin with… and that they widely continue to enforce.

Copyright in Spain is automatic and life plus 70 years. Same as the US and every country in Europe except for Monaco and San Marino where it’s 50.

That is ridiculous argument. Yes a coutry can have an idea and then 200 years later fundamentally disagree with self serving damaging implementation of it.

But they don't; they all currently have strong copyright law.

Largely because of American diplomatic/soft power, which has been significantly weakened of late, protecting the interests of American media conglomerates.

Every extension of copyright for the last several decades has been driven by the desire to keep Mickey Mouse out of the public domain.

They did that around the world, but they didn't have to in Europe -- Europe has pretty consistently had longer copyright terms than the US. The EU moved to life + 70 in 1993. The US did in 1998.

Regardless, my point is that copyright evasion is not anything that any European authority is interested in building a website to facilitate.

The foreign policy of calling out silly censorship in Europe and violations of fundamental freedoms and making European countries implicitly acknowledge it by blocking a US site?

Seems great. Wish Europe didn't censor free speech.

As an American I accept your terms. More freedom for all.

If Europe would set up a way to facilitate non-Europeans getting GDPR protections I'd pay them a good bit of money.

Portugal’s golden visa only costs a year’s salary!

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