No password required
p2p news / p2pnet: "Wow. And I was beginning to think no one would get it."
So says a comment post to Russell McOrmond’s Destroy the Internet ! (Our headline, not his ; )
In it, McOrmond says he agrees with Howard Knopf, "that both the educational community and the collective societies have got it wrong". Both parties are, "pushing a false rhetoric that work is either in the ‘public domain’ (ie, no longer subject to copyright) or royalties are legitimately expected."
But, "This ignores the vast majority of works published on the ‘no password required’ part of the Internet where neither is true," McOrmond points out.
Says the Reader’s Write:
As a future legendary software developer (haha) I have been very worried recently about the actions of the ubiquitous umbrella organizations that attempt to control every aspect of each citizens’ lives in some countries. I have thought to myself many times that software pirates are not actually stealing or costing anyone money (for many reasons; I can sure elaborate upon request). Yet it seems little is being done to curb the efforts of large corporations to ruin the lives individuals "caught" sharing media. Their logic almost makes sense: if they make the penalty really, really severe, who would want to even risk it? Who would speak out about it?
I can say without a doubt that in my country (the USA) some rapists receive far less punishment than digital "criminals."
It is ironic; I must have been born for this day and age. My two passions, the driving forces in my life, are computers and music equally. Movies probably would’ve been up there too, but the Hollywood parasite lives in my country. So I think to myself: well, being pro-free information is fine now, when I have no capital to contribute anyway, but what about when I have made an amazing piece of software or musical production that I would like to see royalties from? The answer to that question is the same as another argument I recently encountered: companies like McDonalds and Nike were once "the little guy", small start-ups trying to make it in the tough market. Why are they not the good guy anymore?
The difference is: one must admit the line was crossed long ago when Walmart digs up an ancient burial ground in Mexico to put in a store and videos like KFC Cruelty have reason to be produced. I do not plan to charge upwards of $1000 for a piece of software.
If someone can afford to pay $20.00 for a CD with ten songs on it, I don’t really want them buying my music.
A bit OT I know, but I am outraged. I’ve spent most of today reading the online backlash to what the terrorist organizations masquerading as my country’s government are doing to people, and although the grim stories of oppression are saddening, it warms my heart to realize there are a growing number of people out there who agree with me. (I am referring to the **AA actually continuing to sue individuals for downloading media they wish to view.)
When I enter the software market intending to develop competent products as a means to put food on the table, I will be glad to know that I have co-workers who share my views. Until I read the article above, I had never seen a sane proposal for dealing with the conflicting viewpoints of "free information" and "I want to get paid to make this stuff." I hope these ideas continue to proliferate and that the online revolution continues to grow.
"We need to get principles into government thinking to deal with this issue," McOrmond concludes in his article.
"We need to ensure that extended or statutory licensing are appropriately used in situations where there is a market failure (such as unauthorized non-commercial sharing of music, movies and television), but to ensure that these schemes are never used in situation where there is a competitive market between multiple methods of production, distribution and funding (such as software, educational materials, scientific research, etc).
"We need to ensure that organizations like the CMEC and Access Copyright are not able to push policy forward that would destroy the growing competitive market for educational material that exists, imposing a "one size fits all" that is increasingly the wrong choice."
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