Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!scs!spl1!laidbak!att!alberta!calgary!arcsun!kenw
From: kenw@arcsun.UUCP (Ken Wallewein)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Piracy
Message-ID: <330@arcsun.UUCP>
Date: 5 Jun 88 06:08:54 GMT
Article-I.D.: arcsun.330
References: <9160@cisunx.UUCP> <1801@uhccux.UUCP> <807@netxcom.UUCP> <501@novavax.UUCP>
Organization: Alberta Research Council, Calgary, Ab.
Lines: 25
Summary: Information as property - property as information?

In article <501@novavax.UUCP>, maddoxt@novavax.UUCP (Thomas Maddox) writes:
> 
> ...
> My sense is that we do not yet understand *information as
> property* fully enough to make absolute pronouncements; that the
> moral terrain outlined by issues such as software piracy is not yet
> clearly mapped. 

  Good point. Now think about this:

  As the technological basis of our civilisation progresses, it is going to 
become easier and easier to make copies of more and more things. It will 
probably become commonplace to create copies remotely, by merely transmitting 
the description (does this sound a little bit familiar?).

  How are we going to deal with copyright as applied to physical objects, 
rather than ideas and information?

  My point is this: sooner or later, we must realize that there are only two 
things of any objective value - work and information. And I think any attempt
to prevent the copying of information is doomed to failure.

  And I gotta wonder, how are we going to handle that?

/kenw