Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparrow
One example (less contentious than others perhaps) where it falls down is in the world of chess.
A player can work for years on an idea, but as soon as it enters the public arena it's freely available for anyone to use.
An idea has been 'taken' from someone without their permission, but it isn't theft.
|
You can say the same thing about IP because that is what you are talking about and currently the copyright law is intended to address that with regard to certain types of IP, Patent protection protects other types, etc. etc. That is the current laws that are in place and as I've said repeatedly I'm not discussing the current laws when I say this, I'm talking about what is ethically and morally right regardless of current law.
What you are talking about with the chess I think, would be calls a process or sequence or something -- very much along the lines of computer code. (unless I'm missing your point). That is a process that I'm assuming in your example someone could "copy" similar perhaps to high-jumping when the first person jumped with their back to the bar then everyone copied them. This is still a kind of theft in a way but it is also different in that we are talking about duplicating a sequence of muscle movements or sequence of chess moves rather than taking a physical object like a book or computer file. (I can see though that this same concept is at the core of the current allowance of patents to computer code.
I suppose a more equivalent example with regard to an ebook (or pbook for that matter) would be that if a person with flawless memory read your book by checking it out from the library and was then able to recreate it by typing it in, they would have a copy of your book. Still if I did not give permission for them to have that copy then it is an illegal copy and they have stolen it from me (due to their superpowers
). The book the sequence of characters is my Intellectual Property and the fact that they have it without my permission means they are a thief. IMO (Ah, but it occurs to me why would a person with a flawless memory even need to type it out unless nefarious deeds were under way.
)
Maybe EBooks should be protected under patent law as opposed to copyright law.
Still I am firm in my belief that If you take my property without my permission you are a thief.
[btw here is one definition of thief: a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it ]