Kevin Kelly has an opinion piece, Making My Own Music, in the New York Times (note: you have to register to access NY Times articles, but registration is free). Kelly discusses the hearing by the Supreme Court of Ashcroft v. Eldred, a case protesting the most recent extension of copyright protection.

Under the current copyright regime, short-term profit outweighs long-term value. As copyright protection lurches toward perpetuity, America's cultural heritage %u2014 in whatever media %u2014 is increasingly becoming the property of corporate copyright holders. But it belongs to all of us. Technology has given fans the means to enhance and protect this common heritage. The law should give them the right.

Copyright is important. It gives creators the right to control the use of the their creations for a limited amount of time. But the public domain is important to. It affects how we learn and grow and build from the past and create new discoveries for the future.