In a message dated 7/12/2000 11:39:40 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
hal@finney.org writes:
> This is why I am interested in the subject; unlike Lee, I don't see
> copyright as harmful to society, or something we should legislate away.
> Rather, I see it as technologically unstable, and I want us to begin
> working on creative ways to allow artists to survive and thrive in a
> world where copyright essentially does not exist.
>
Thanks, Hal, that's the most cohesive "take" on this I have seen. Whereas
copyrights laws have been struggling to keep artists and inventors from being
outright frauded, they've often done little to help artists to make money,
rather we are given the option waiting til the fraud has been perpetrated and
then suing to collect (about 50-50% chance, and only if you can afford to
sue).
What's going to be interesting is not to see if artists and inventors
survive, surely they will, since both professions are the result of unbounded
curiosity, clever minds and restless souls? These professions are not for
those who cherish security above all else ; ).
But what I have a *feeling* about is that if these new "information
architects" can bring some kind of power to bear, that this will be a break
through time entrepreneurialy for writers, musicians, artists and inventors
of all kinds. But only if we can handle this completely complex and
gargantuan distribution problem.
It ain't gonna be easy, and it's gonna take cooperation.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Oct 02 2000 - 17:34:27 MDT