Re: consortium to discuss electronic storage

Well, it seems that everyone on the list wants to help out. So, let's get started...

>The copyright law that is supposed to regulate the interaction of
>these interests is not adaptable to electronic technologies as it is
>currently written.

How does one come to that conclusion? The copyright law is well suited to be adapted to electronic technologies -- the problem is that the direct adaptation is clearly not how electronic users want to do with electronic publications.

As more and more people become accustomed to electronic media, more and more people will end up in clear violation of copyrights. People are used to, and expect to be able to access an online database, capture some data/reports, and then share it with many others. Grab the results of a Dialog query, capture it, then email it to everyone on your interest mailing list...

When we start getting online libraries, things get quite strange. In the case of digitizing... We can probably stretch things and suggest that a library can digitize a publication destroying the original, then it could be looked at or "loaned out" but only if such uses were kept to a single simultaneous user. No problem there.

But, some proposed online access schemes want to collect a royalty every time each word is accessed electronically. Can you imagine having to do so with every posting on some newsgroups? -- there are just too many flames, rantings, and otherwise worthless material that I don't want to have to pay for just to see that I don't want to buy it.

The online library therefore would be some problem, but the online bookstore / magazine store could be horrific if people can't browse without someone collecting copyright fees.

So, is that a starting point for some more discussion...?

---
Glenn Tenney
tenney[_at_]netcom.com            Amateur radio: AA6ER
Voice: (415) 574-3420        Fax: (415) 574-0546