|
I understand that a number of software companies have construed copyright law so as to say that you need permission to copy bits from a disc you own into your computer's RAM. If courts have upheld that interpretation, then the law is an ass.
What about the copy of the book on each of my retinas? What about the copy in my brain? Everybody recognizes these as a necessary part of exercising my right to read the book I bought. Well, the "unauthorized" copies in my computer are an equally necessary part of exercising my rights. Same with lending a book to someone. I don't need the copyright holder's permission to do that, whether the book is on paper or in a file. If that involves making an "unauthorized" copy of a file, then so be it. It's a necessary part of exercising a right I have.
If there are people abusing the right to lend books by committing actual piracy, then the proper response is to go after the guilty few pirates, not to take away everyone else's right to lend.
|