Re: Napster destroys Western Civilization

On Sat, 6 May 2000, Jeroen Hellingman <jehe[_at_]kabelfoon.nl> wrote:
>
> Now that it is -- and that started with tape-recorders and xerox
> machines, most people don't feel they harm the copyright owners,
> simply because they think they wouldn't spend the much higher price
> the real thing would cost -- even if they couldn't copy it at all.

That's because people are terribly narcissistic. They think only of themselves and not of their role (or lack thereof) as part of a society. If I am the only one who does not pay for a software program, that may not seem like a big deal to some people because the software is only worth $40 and hey, that great big company that makes the software can afford the $40 more than I can. But the problem is that I'm not the only one. There are tons of me(s) out there, and when you add all of their $40 denials together, that IS a significant loss to the software maker. Just exactly what do you think HE learns from that and what will HIS response be? If he's smart, it will be to factor in for the theft and charge a higher price off the top. Guess what that means? It means we ALL pay. Or, it may mean that a product which could prove VERY useful never comes to market because the expected return on investment is risky when factoring in such a high production cost (which now have to be inflated due to the theft). Then we ALL lose.

> I have no idea how to come up with a new scheme "to promote progress
> of sciences and arts", but probably that would come from some kind
> of licencing scheme, in which ultimately the creators will be happy
> to have a much smaller amount from a much larger part of the
> population. If we can come up with a scheme that says, you may copy
> my works for some amount per unit, and the amount is not too large,
> and the enforcement reasonably easy, many people will be happy to
> comply.

Well, these are all very warm and fuzzy thoughts, but sadly not on the mark. A few of these schemes have been developed (ASCAP, CCC, BMI, etc.), and the cost to participate is far below the "listed" cost to go to the rightsholders individually, and yet many companies still don't act through these avenues unless or until they are threatened with litigation.

Marty Hayes
<9ball[_at_]hostsite.net> Received on Thu May 11 2000 - 19:30:07 GMT