For those that know me, I sometimes tend to beat this subject into the ground; but I’ve found two quotes that express my views on copyright much more eloquently than I have been able to express in the past:

The first just happens to be from our very own Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 8:

“The Congress shall have Power … To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”

The second quote is from Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (and she was even restating what another judge had said in 1975; I’ve included her citation from her decision):

“The primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor of authors, but ‘[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.’ Art. I, 8, cl. 8. Accord, Twentieth Century Music Corp. v. Aiken, 422 U.S. 151, 156 (1975).” — O’Connor, Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991), emphasis added