Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lake
Someone recently pointed me to this article about how the crazed insanity surrounding copyright is not only hurting us, the authors, but also the readers as well, and all in the name of unadulterated greed.
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It is hurting the readers as well-but it's not *all* in the name of greed.
Copyright exists to find a way to convince authors, artists, & scientists to publish widely, rather than to limit their distribution to channels they can personally control. (In the US, that's official; in other countries, it's implied.) Without some kind of limitations on copying & distribution, nothing prevents Random House from downloading Steve Jordan's new book and releasing it under their own logo, without paying him anything for it.
Copyright may not be the only way to prevent this, but it's what we've got for now; attempts to abolish IP law need to *first* figure out how we'll prevent corporations from taking over people's work without compensation.
(That said--I like a lot of Stallman's ideas, even if I think he's a bit over the top in spots. And I think the lack of privacy online is a big concern and will be a bigger one.)