User:Gordon Harrison

I am a photographer and campaigner for artists rights. I believe that authors have moral rights to any work they create, including the right to decide who can and who cannot distribute their work, that these rights are human rights as expressed in article 27 of the United Nations Human Rights Act, and should be respected by all.

I am a strong believer in copyright, the purpose of which is to protect the moral rights of authors and to prohibit free riding. Authors must have the exclusive right to decide whether or not another person or organisation can use their work, that their wishes are paramount. Authors can decide to give their work away, or set conditions or licenses for use. This is a fundamental right. Creative commons is an unfinished idea - it has no mechanism to enable an author to preclude use of the authors work by individuals and organisations whose ethics they do not approve of. Copyright allows authors to grant of refuse permission to use their works.

I hope over time to expand these ideas in an article the object of which is to demonstrate that copyright is not a privileged monopoly, but a human right granted to all. Unfortunately the concept has been corrupted by vested interests and the people who suffer are creative people, the people that copyright is designed to protect.