Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan
My works are on pirate sites right now. I'm losing money right now. And I'm not alone. (And don't truck out the lame "pirates wouldn't buy anyway" argument, it's the biggest load of gossa since Godzilla ate a Taco Bell.)
The "abandon copyright" idea is as empty and ultimately unproductive as abandoning speeding laws because they don't catch all the speeders.
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With all due respect - and I really mean that tired old cliche - I don't believe that there's any way to know whether you are right or wrong about the impact of pirate sites. There are perfectly reasonable arguments both ways, but no way I can see to test them. About the best one can say is that we should respect the opinion of the creator in terms of our own actions.
On the "abandon copyright" point, I don't agree. But my position is not one I can prove. It's more just a sense, as a lawyer, that copyright law does not correctly fit the digital environment. We are in a period where cars are replacing horses, and the laws are all based on the assumption that you are driving a hay wagon or the marvelous one hoss shay. We do need some kind of legal regime to encourage & protect creators, but not the one we have now.