Re: Obsolesence of Intellectual Property

From: Zero Powers (zero_powers@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun Aug 06 2000 - 16:01:05 MDT


>From: "Jason Joel Thompson" <jasonjthompson@home.com>
>
>Zero Powers wrote:
>
> > ... So sure, from the *point of view of
> > the artist/record company* Napster is a "bad" thing. No argument there.
> > But I try to look at this question from the broadest possible view. Not
> > merely from the standpoint of the copyright holders, nor merely from the
> > standpoint of the pirates. But from the view of trying to determine the
> > absolute or "greater good."
>
>Ah, you are very slippery my friend... yes, very slippery indeed. :)

Most of my girlfriends made note of that very same trait ;)

>A few extremely rhetorical questions:
>
>If, however, the copyright laws cause more harm (in
> > diminished free flow of data)
>
>The 'harm' of college kids not getting their 'Blink 182' for free??

"Good" and "harm" (like beauty) are in the mind of the beholder. If you're
Blink 182, then kids not being able to get your tunes for free is a "good"
thing. If however, you're a pirate living in a U.S.C. dorm and the
administration has cut off all access to Napster, that (to you) would be
"bad" thing.

> > than their supposed good (in stuffing the
> > pocketbooks of content providers),
>
>The 'supposed' good of rewarding people who fulfill a demand?

*Everybody* feels entitled to some reward for their efforts. Society,
however, sometimes feels otherwise. I'd like to get paid for riding my bike
in the mountains, but can't find anyone to pay me for it. So I do that just
for fun and I have found other things to do for money.

If Blink 182 finds that suddenly they can't make money from their music,
they can similarly find other, less fun, things to do for money. If society
wakes up to find that Blink 182's retirement from music-making is such a
terrible thing, people will become willing to pay them again for their
music.

>I'm not saying anything intelligent in the post at all, so please feel free
>to ignore it.

Thanks for the warning :)

But, I'd be interested in hearing your (serious) thoughts about the points I
have made when you get around to feeling like it. We are, after all,
talking about changing the world, no?

Peace.

-Zero

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