Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparrow
No.
Someone might spend a lot of time and money making their front garden beautiful.
They haven't done that work for anyone but themselves; but that doesn't mean passers-by are obliged to pay for the privilege of admiring the efforts of their labour - which enrich their lives to some extent.
If I asked them to come and work on my garden, they'd be entitled to reimbursement for the inconvenience the work would entail.
If I asked for a cutting, I should be prepared to pay for the work and the (slight) impairment caused to their garden as a result.
But if a seed blows across the fence, and I end up with a copy of one of their beautiful plants, I don't think I should be made to pay for it (there was no inconvenience or cost to them), nor should I have to destroy it (pointless) - I'd feel no moral qualms about letting it grow and flower (adding beauty to the world).
If they resent the fact other people might get windblown seeds for free - they could put up fences, or cover their flowerbeds, or take whatever measures they feel necessary to deprive others of the fruits of their labour. But if those measures end up besmirching the neighbourhood (cutting out the light to other gardens, looking hideous etc.) - then others equally have their right to voice objections to the consequences to them of such methods.
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The fact that they chose to expend this effort and money on their front garden rather than their back garden (assuming they have both and both are arable) says something about what their motives might be. Perhaps they want to give some beauty to the neighborhood. Perhaps they want to be admired or envied by their neighbors or by visitors. Perhaps they have an even nicer garden in the back that they charge visitors to see. Perhaps they sell plants and garden ornaments, and the front garden serves as a sales display. But a public display has a purpose, just as posting in a public forum has a purpose, and that purpose is by its nature not to generate income directly.
If you want parallels to writing, then I might write a book and post it for free on my website, either with a CC license or not, just because I think my book contributes in some way to the community and I want it to be free. Or I might post the book because I want to impress potential agents or publishers, or because I want my friends and family to see that I actually finished a book. I might post just the first chapter and ask someone to pay for the rest of the book. I might give that book away, but offer other books for sale. The point is, by posting it myself in a public place, I'm effectively donating it, just as someone who plants a garden in front of their house is donating that effort. But that doesn't mean the owner of the garden wants people trespassing in back of the house to see the prize roses they're preparing for a competition, and it doesn't mean I want people hacking into my website to take books I'm not offering for free. (Not that I'm offering any books at this time-- I'm still trying to decide what to do with my writing.)
I agree with you about the wind-blown seeds, though. There have been some interesting court cases involving agribusiness firms like Monsanto and contamination of neighboring fields with their genetically modified seeds (or even pollen) in which Monsanto has tried to sue the owners of the fields for deliberately using their IP (genetic engineering) without paying for it. I think that's absurd. If Monsanto wants to sue anyone, they should sue those who bought and planted their seeds and didn't put nets over their crops or didn't leave a wide enough border around their fields to prevent escape of the seed, but I think that's futile. The neighbors can't control what the wind blows onto their land. It's not the same as the darknet where you can decide whether or not to download something. This would be more like being sued because a virus dumped a copy of a cracked book into your ebook reader.
