Sharing and Stealing
Jessica Litman,
Dec 01, 2003
Litman argues convincingly that "One of the most salient lessons from the copyright wars of the last few years is that if express permission is required before one can post aCRLFcollection of anything on the Internet, one will be unable to do it." Quite right, which is why such a requirement would destroy the internet. Moreover, "Thirty years ago, when you saw something you wanted to use or share, the default rule was that you were entitled to do so." Copyright rules have changed, and in such a way as to make it almost impossible to obtain copyright clearance in order to share. The world of music shows us what a world of strong copyright would be like, and what we could obtain under a different regime. "The promise of being able to find music that isCRLFnot available in stores, and to share it with other consumers, in contrast, is compelling." The solution proposed is much what I would endorse: people who own copyrighted materials should 'opt out' of using systems set up for free information sharing. use your own formats (the author suggests a .drm format), use your own network. Quit trying to turn the entire network into your private distribution channel!
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