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From: colonel@ellie.UUCP (Col. G. L. Sicherman)
Newsgroups: net.legal,net.emacs
Subject: Re: Software copying, royalties
Message-ID: <1033@ellie.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 30-Apr-86 17:50:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: ellie.1033
Posted: Wed Apr 30 17:50:50 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 4-May-86 05:43:07 EDT
References: <893@harvard.UUCP>
Organization: North American Veeblefetzer
Lines: 38
Xref: watmath net.legal:3372 net.emacs:1911

> I do not intend to try to refute the Gnu M; but let me open the
> discussion of the relationship of copying costs and authors'
> royalties.  Gnu M says:
> 
> > ...copyright did not exist in ancient times, when authors frequently
> > copied other [non-fiction] authors....  This practice was useful....
> > [For] books, which could be copied economically only on a printing
> > press---it did little harm, and did not obstruct most [readers].
> 
> I would argue that it was the invention of relatively cheap copying
> (i.e. printing) that caused copyright to become a good idea.  Rather
> than try to argue this poorly, let me quote a paper of Herbert Simon
> that I recently read:

I distrust Simon; he always takes a stand.  The distinction between
book production and xerocopying is an important one: xerocopying
cannot be controlled.  It's so flexible that anybody can do it.
How many people own a printing press?

The system of copyright relied on the difficulty of copying for the
man in the street, compared to the ease of printing for the rightful
publisher.  And in spite of copyright, there have always been pirated
editions, and poor students who would copy books out in longhand.
Copyright was never perfect, but it was adequate.

Now that media technology has developed far enough so that
information can be copied easily and quickly, copyright cannot
be enforced; it gives the author no useful protection.  But there
are other, older forms of protection that still work well, such
as subscription.  In the electronic global village, publication
becomes an instantaneous, irrevocable act for the public benefit.
If the artist means to devote much work to his creation, he had
better arrange payment beforehand.
-- 
Col. G. L. Sicherman
UU: ...{rocksvax|decvax}!sunybcs!colonel
CS: colonel@buffalo-cs
BI: csdsicher@sunyabva