Re: NY Times Ethicist Condones Ripping Off E-books

joseph harris wrote:
> I know of no system that will achieve that other than control of
> copies.

Control of copies is now *impossible*.

A speed limit sign on the highway does not prevent cars from traveling
at more than the posted rate; it merely advises the driver of possible
penalties if caught.  Copyright does not prevent copying; it provides
penalties for copying, if caught.

However, the cost and effort of creating unlimited copies have now
dropped so very low that both the penalties and the chance of getting
caught are also extremely low.

Any system of rewarding and supporting creators that relies on copy
control is doomed.  Educational efforts, such as your valiant ones,
Joseph, are the only way to support that approach, and how well is that
working?

Anyone interested in seeing that creators are rewarded for their work
needs to take a huge step back from the status quo and take a fresh look
at both old and new systems, such as patronage, tip jars, street
performers, merchandising, premium editions.  A system predicated on the
expense and difficulty of reproducing marks on slabs of dead tree is
going to be as effective in this new world as a card catalog for
searching the Internet.

~Chris
-- 
Chris Maden, text nerd  <URL: http://crism.maden.org/ >
“Four freedom boxes: / Soap, ballot, jury, ammo. /
 Use in that order.” — haiku after Ed Howdershelt
GnuPG Fingerprint: C6E4 E2A9 C9F8 71AC 9724 CAA3 19F8 6677 0077 C319


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