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Originally Posted by rogue_librarian
Unless you make those works publically available you are not a publisher. Merely making a backup copy, or device-shifting your original does not count.
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Surely you are not denying that computers make it possible for you to disseminate material to the the public? It is that possibility that DRM tries to protect against (it's success is obviously debatable). If we cannot trust people not to strip DRM when they agree not to, how are we to trust them not to distribute to the public even if they say they wont?
Quote:
Originally Posted by rogue_librarian
I am afraid the courts are still out on that one. Germany does apply its book-pricing cartel on ebooks as well, while the European Union refuses to treat them as books (potentially lower sales tax than software, you see). Early days yet.
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I agree, the law still has a long way to got. But I do think that people need to better understand the real differences (or lack) between paper books and ebooks.
As to your question of whether patent and copyright law still serve their purpose. I'd say that patent law still achieves it in the realm of real (physical device) manufacturing, but I'd say it's been incorrectly applied in the case of software (in some jurisdictions). Copyright is much harder to guess. I'd have to say, yes, at the moment it is still playing its part. But the ever increasing spread of the Internet makes me wonder how authors of the future may earn their way. What are we saying, author's are going to have to ask for donations? Maybe a $ per question they answer to private emails? Give me a better option.