Jan 277 min read

Your thoughts, our rights.

Updated: Jan 29

Some consideration on language:

I wrote this text in summer 2021, originally in French with the title “Vos pensées, nos droits.” Translation is difficult to convey both the message and the style. I’m then asking my readers to be nice enough to tell me the mistakes they might see, so this short story can keep improving.

Part I 12 years old.

“Paul, we need to talk.”

“Yes, Mom?”

“Tomorrow, for your exam, you have to get an average.”

“Of course, it’s easy, don’t worry.”

“I know you can get a good grade. But you just have to get the average. No more. No less.”

“But, Mom?” replied a puzzled Paul.

“My darling, we can’t afford that,” she said, a gentle smile in her voice.

“But Mom, my English teacher told me he was counting on me to compose an exceptional paper.”

“Ah! Don’t do that. Don’t go writing quotes. We’ll have to pay for each one. I’m telling you. We can’t afford it. Pretend you know next to nothing, just enough to pass.”

“But it’s not fair, I could get the jury’s congratulations.”

“Sweetheart, just think about it. The authors have worked long hours to write those magnificent sentences you want to quote. All the while, their families supported them. Now they’re getting paid. It’s a return on investment, that’s all. You’re going to have to write your copy only with your own sentences, invent examples, but no references.”

She smiled weakly, shoulders hunched, trying to hide her despair by hugging her son.

Part II 26 years old

“Monsieur Paul Mertignac, as dean of the faculty, I’d like to congratulate you. Please allow me a brief digression, which you can put down to my age.”

The dean stood up, moved his glass of water to the lectern, observed the assembly for a few seconds before beginning.

“In my long career, I’ve had the opportunity to come across countless collegians and a considerable crowd of PhD students. Paul could have been one of them, but as you all know, he falls into a more restricted category, that of double doctoral postgraduate. Yet he’s more exceptional than that, for his doctorates are unrelated. ‘Comparative poetry in courtly love and early 21st century rap’ for the former, and ‘study on the possibility of superposed spin states’ for the latter. I have to admit that I’m not sure I understand the meaning of the second topic, although none of the words in the statement are foreign to me.”

A shudder of laughter and polite applause ran through the audience.

“But, practically speaking, Paul belongs to an even narrower category. In fact, I’ve looked at the statistics. He’s been alone in his category for too many years. Ever since intellectual property laws were broadened.”

The frowns in the assembly showed that none of them wanted to be drawn into a political diatribe, but the dean continued. At the back of the room, the CMIPC representative listened more intently.

“Paul Mertignac is also a scholarship student. His mother–I praise you Madam–couldn’t afford to pay for her son’s education. However, a literature teacher at the middle school Paul attended had already spotted his exceptional gifts. I quote him, from his end-of-Grade 7 exam commentary.”

“Paul displays a finesse and quality of writing that cannot be represented by the mark obtained. This B could be considered perfectly satisfactory for any other student, but the ostentatious refusal to use quotations to back up his words costs him a lot.”

“This teacher has remained a loyal supporter, sometimes even a patron. I had the opportunity to meet him when Paul defended his thesis on poetry. We came to the conclusion that we were extremely fortunate and honored, to have crossed paths with a mind like Paul’s. But I digress.”

The Dean looked at Paul with pride.

“Paul’s career path is exceptional, because in addition to obtaining a double doctorate, he managed to combine that with the strategy he was already employing in college. He minimized intellectual property licensing costs by systematically developing all reasoning and experiments to avoid citations and therefore references. As a result, he became the only scholarship student in recent decades to achieve a brilliant, high-level education. He is now destined for an phenomenal future, and it is with undisguised pleasure that, in addition to his graduation, I am today validating the publication by HUP of his first collection of poetry. ”

Part III 38 years old

“Good work, Pierre. And don’t worry, I’ll pay for the rights to this article. You can refer to it in your thesis, it’ll be much easier. You’ll have to learn how to get around citations, but in this case it’s not easy. If you need other publications, let me know, we’ll work something out, I’ll put them on my name.”

“Thank you, Professor Mertignac. By the way, a group of colleagues and I are setting up an association called APCE (association for the promotion of copyright exceptions) to promote scientific reflection. We were wondering if you’d consider sponsoring it.”

“Of course, defending access to education is a necessity. If I hadn’t managed to get around the pitfalls of the law, I’d never have been able to pursue my studies. You can count on me. I’m interested in your association. We need to talk about it soon. I have to be able to do more than just recommend it. Sure, I'll get involved.”

Part IV 56 years old

Extract from “Ouest France, November 25.”

From the Paul Mertignac Vs. CMIPC case to the Mertignac law?

Pleading day at the Rennes’s Tribunal. All the country’s leading barristers were in the courthouse this morning. What should have been a simple local affair now has national, even international, significance. The personality of the defense is, of course, the first outstanding feature of this judgment. Paul Mertignac, in addition to being one of the youngest Nobel Prize winners, is also the only person to have won both the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Nobel Prize for Physics. The other multiple Nobel Prize winners in different disciplines are Marie Curie in physics and chemistry, and Linus Carl Pauling in chemistry and peace. Paul Mertignac is therefore a world authority, and his opinion is sought in many fields. However, his battle with CMIPC is more fundamental.

The plaintiff accuses Mr. Mertignac of using copyrighted material without prior consent. Mr. Mertignac denies the facts. He has indeed produced all his publications in support of his point of view, and his lawyers have demonstrated in recent days that they comply with current legislation. Each summons has been identified and the costs paid. But CMIPC maintains that Paul Mertignac’s work stems from the body of knowledge that “he shamelessly exploits from the shelter of his skull” (quote from Esquire Forman, CMIPC’s lawyer after authorization).

Esquire Forman also made clear the general scope of the complaint, pointing out several times that Mr. Mertignac was president of APCE (association for the promotion of copyright exceptions) until it was dissolved by court order two years ago. Esquire Forman, beyond playing games, struck an inspired blow during his closing argument, formally quoting Isaac Newton and declaring that Mr. Mertignac “stands on the shoulders of giants”, but refuses to admit it. The reference to the world of physics when the accusation concerns poetic writings clearly shows that the CMIPC’s aim is to have it recognized: the use of copyrighted material, including one’s own thoughts, should be regulated. Just because a thought is not explicitly published does not mean that it has not taken place and exploited copyrighted knowledge.

Here we come clashing with national politics, which has been symbolized by the presence of libertarian agitators even in the corridors of the courthouse. The CMIPC’s request, made through Esquire Forman, is entirely in line with the bill tabled in the French parliament promoting an annual license for what has been learned until proven forgotten…

Part V 63 years old

"Mr. Paul Mertignac, after deliberation, it appears that :

You owe 42,365,024 euros in back payments of copyright licenses, for yourself or for persons for whom you are engaged as a teacher or president of an illegal association.

You are insolvent for the sums due, including for the foreseeable future.

The plaintiffs’ group agrees not to demand full recovery of the debt if all the persons concerned (yourself as well as the persons for whom you have committed yourself) submit to the application of continuous monitoring of copyright compliance. As all appeals and remedies have been exhausted, the judgment implies that you will be equipped with a mobile copyright monitoring device. You are responsible for the maintenance and operation of this device. Any infringement will be immediately sanctioned by the use of a fixed supervision device and/or by the deletion of the litigious material from the memory.

Bailiff. Please proceed immediately."

Part VI 81 years old

The man trembled in his armchair in frustration. His children and grandchildren were singing a song, but he couldn’t remember the tune or the lyrics. It was probably about birthdays, since a cake covered with candles was spread out in front of him. However, it was all a blur in his mind. As with every time the machine erased his memory as it rebuilt itself, he was plagued by a sense of “déjà vu” he couldn’t resolve.

He watched the laughing children feasting on the chocolate cake. His thoughts wandered, happy himself to see them joyous, but feeling an unfathomable fog deep inside him, a lack of lucidity he couldn’t quite identify.

“We gave you a book of poetry, you liked it so much. We also loaded your account so you could remember, but don’t read it all at once, or you won’t last the whole year. I love you, Daddy,” she concluded, kissing him.

When they had left, he settled back in his armchair, anticipating the pleasure of savoring the verses, even though he couldn’t recall a single stanza. He opened to the first page and read the title ’The Strange Flavor of Rotation.’ He had to memorize the text to appreciate its beauty, so he turned to the right control machine:

“Request temporary rights for 10 minutes.”

“Free access granted on humanitarian grounds,” the machine replied in his mind. “The applicant, Paul Mertignac, is the author of the text, although he has assigned the rights to the CMIPC.”