This idea is neither logical nor likely:
What value is there in having an expertise if all tangible expressions of
that expertise are to be given away? Very few earn a living from charm
alone; most of us need to create tangible deliverables. If our expertise
is in the delivery of electronic media, and electronic media is to be
given away, then we do not eat.
Such an idea can only work if other tangible commodities, such as food,
cars, and housing, are similarly given away to those individuals who
create.
And after the decades of debate that it took to get an international
majority to adopt the rulings of the Berne Agreement in '77, I doubt we
will see in our lifetime a reversal of nearly all thought on the value of
creative and innovative works in the modern economy. Especially if such
a reversal implies the end of nearly every growth industry driving the
economic world.
I recognize that this sort of thinking may periodically enjoy a certain
vogue in academic circles, but the rest of us have an international
economy to maintain.
>So let the copyright-minded people worry about protecting their content,
>and deal with the intrincacies of copyright law...
It's not all that intricate:
If you didn't make it yourself, obtain permission.
Doesn't take a law degree to sort through that one, and most of us picked
up this idea in elementary school -
Think back. The project is a book report due on Friday. You have two
choices: You can either write a book report yourself, or copy one from a
friend's computer and turn it in before he does, representing yourself as
the creator of the work and denying him the value of his own.
Beyond the economics of it, do we not take pride and enjoyment in our own
self-expression? I once had my company's mission statement copied
word-for-word by another firm, and I let it go: If his vision for his
company is so absent that it can only be expressed in my words, his
business is doomed and I'll be able to pick up his equipment next year at
the bankruptcy auction. :)
- Richard Gaskin
Fourth World
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