Quote:
Originally Posted by sealbeater
Information wants to be free.
EDIT: Full quote if anyone is interested.
On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other.
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I've read some pretty interesting books based on both ends of that statement, all information free at the tips of your fingers, verses the cost of every query.
My basic take is that the real issue is the cost and ease of enforcement. It's a bit like speed limits. In the US, as long as you stay within certain boundaries and avoid certain areas, speed limits are rarely enforced. Copyright is fairly similar. There is a reason that foreign copyrights were not enforced in the US until the late 70's. For the most part, it simply wasn't worth the effort. It was only when there was a significant foreign market in movies did the US become interested. It's almost impossible to enforce copyright outside certain areas.