Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 UW 5/3/83; site uw-beaver Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!cbosgd!ihnp4!houxm!houxz!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!info-mac From: info-mac@uw-beaver (info-mac) Newsgroups: fa.info-mac Subject: copy protection Message-ID: <1067@uw-beaver> Date: Tue, 3-Jul-84 21:56:19 EDT Article-I.D.: uw-beave.1067 Posted: Tue Jul 3 21:56:19 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 5-Jul-84 00:14:17 EDT Sender: daemon@uw-beave Organization: U of Washington Computer Science Lines: 20 From: Peter Blicher PB - Well, if you really want a solution, here's one. First of all, things will eventually get worse as everything becomes available in machine-readable form--newspapers, magazines, books, etc. If you can see it on a screen, you can copy it, so copying can only be impeded, not prevented, unless the hardware contains non-tamperable RSA boxes. Here's the reasoning for another solution. As long as the user has to pay a significant fee for use, there will be incentive for piracy. Therefore use should be free. As long as obtaining stuff from the source is more convenient than copying, there will be disincentive for piracy. Therefore everything should be readily obtainable. How does the originator get paid? By the Government, of course. More exactly, some central organization provides the data, notes how many copies have been sent out, and reimburses at some legislated rate (per word, per work, or whatever). Where does the money come from? Taxation, either general (like paying for the current copyright office, library of congress, roads for the common good, etc.) or on the reproduction equipment. To keep authors from ordering infinite copies to get extra royalties, the system has to allow only 1 copy per customer (in the appropriate sense--organizations would get more).