On 04/12/96, Bruce Bertram <bmb[_at_]bmb.com> said:
>
> I think the, or at least one fundamental error is in
> failing to distinguish between the "right" and the legal
> means of enforcing the right or obtaining redress for
> infringement of the right, and the practical method of
> protecting the work. The fact that it's easier to copy
> simply means that if someone doesn't want their work
> copied, then s/he either doesn't put it on a computer
> network, or finds means to protect, e.g. encrypt, it.
I think you miss the point. Most authors want as many people as possible to obtain their work, They also want to be paid by those who obtain it.
Focusing on the "making of copies" is no longer a very efficient way of seeing that that happens.
It is really not, to my mind, a matter of "rights", "legal enforcement" or other labels. The mechanism just doesn't work well.
One of the synptroms of it not working well is that the law becomes increasingly violated by those whose normal inlclination is to obey the law.
Copying used to be a good analogue for distirbution. It is not anymore.
Regards,
John
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