Re: Who Checks to See that the Publisher Has Rights (was Re: Amazon remotely deletes 1984)

From: "Mary E Tyler"
> 
> On Jul 26, 2009, at 9:37 AM, joseph harris wrote:
> 
>>
>> From: "Mary E Tyler"
>>>>
>>>> A serious player in the field can hardly claim that they don't
>>>> understand copyright issues. An ISBN is, in itself, a check of
>>>> sorts. This identifies the publisher and validates their physical
>>>> reality in so far as the ISBN purchase process has a system to do  
>>>> so.
>>>
>>> UM, wouldn't the ISBN be an Australian one issued by Australia? Not a
>>> US ISBN issues by a US publisher? How is Amazon supposed to
>>> automatically compare the books? By title? I mean, NO two books ever
>>> share the same title **snort.**
>>
>> dej,
>>
>> I don't often disagree with you, but ISBNs are easily recognisable  
>> by issuer - ie country. As you point out separately a littel bit of  
>> thought and care would have offered the full necessary instructions  
>> to the software writer - who is not expected to be a copyright expert.
>>
> 
> I don't understand what your disagreement is. Someone said "they  
> should be able to compare ISBNs" but a foreign ISBN wouldn't be the  
> same as the American ISBN for the same work, so comparing them would  
> be of no use whatsoever. You can't compare titles because different  
> books share the same title. You could, theoretically compare content,  
> but that's draconian... Can it be assumed that ALL ebooks with  
> Australian ISBNs can't be sold in the US? Because if it's not a good  
> assumptions simply filtering for the country of origin of an ISBN  
> isn't a good algorithm.

Ah, complex stuff all this ;-). I meant that the marker would be a country known to have a different term period. That would then flag up either a prepared software or a physical check. The details of what is checked would depend on knowledge of the field.

Places like Amazon think they can have a business which has no expertise in the business itself. Their giant profits come from failing to do things any basic bookseller would know to do, It is an example of th technology being thought to change basic business practice. It works for a bit. Then the problems start mounting. Look at the continuing and growing catalogue of complaints Aaron is called on to answer...

The Kindle was turned into a "pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap" system. But these are in no way remainders. Nor second hand. It is money first, system second, customer third, suppliers nowhere. In building metaphor the foundations are weak.

> I know about software an software design and this is EXACTLY the kind  
> of mistake made when someone used to one facet of an industry develops  
> software intended for another part of the industry... or tries to  
> scale software for an international market that was never developed  
> for such a market.

I don't argue with that aspect. But no one can expect a software developer to get it right if the information they are given is inadequate; that ties to my point above.

> 
> dej
> 

My observation of corporations is that they are built on money-magnet ideas, rather than service. This happening is another brick for that building ;-).

Joseph


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