Quote:
Originally Posted by mjh215
With copyright, IP and DRM issues constantly being debated I thought I'd look for some titles on that subject to suggest... I was trying to find something all-encompassing, giving multiple sides to the topics, but in the end I just picked one I could find that was available as in at least 2 ebook formats... Feel free to suggest another... I haven't read it, don't know if I agree or disagree with the authors views...
Against Intellectual Monopoly - by Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine
"“Intellectual property” – patents and copyrights – have become controversial. We witness teenagers being sued for “pirating” music – and we observe AIDS patients in Africa dying due to lack of ability to pay for drugs that are high priced to satisfy patent holders. Are patents and copyrights essential to thriving creation and innovation – do we need them so that we all may enjoy fine music and good health? Across time and space the resounding answer is: No. So-called intellectual property is in fact an “intellectual monopoly” that hinders rather than helps the competitive free market regime that has delivered wealth and innovation to our doorsteps. This book has broad coverage of both copyrights and patents and is designed for a general audience, focusing on simple examples. The authors conclude that the only sensible policy to follow is to eliminate the patents and copyright systems as they currently exist."
It's available from Amazon, free as a 8.5x11 PDF and Cambridge University Press/ebooks.com has it in Adobe Reader (Dunno if that is pdf or epub?).
-MJ
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I've sent email to David K. Levin in hopes to get a copy that will be fairly easy to convert that's not in PDF. If I can get such, I will be quite happy to second this. It does sound like a good choice.