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Election 2006 (and beyond): Digital Copyright Canada
From: russell_-at-_flora.ottawa.on.ca (Russell McOrmond)
Date: 9 May 2000 13:19:30 -0400
References: <016901bfb9cf$be0f3620$6398059a@TUBC>
The article being referenced can be read here:
<http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2000-05-04-007-06-OP>
I wrote my own article about the lawsuit against fans by Metallica and
posted it here: http://russell.flora.org/papers/byemetallica.html
On Tue, 9 May 2000, Michael Gurstein forwarded from the above article:
> I am a follower of Richard Stallman, the creator of the GNU project and
> pioneer of the free software movement, but Richard and I don't agree on
> one thing: Richard doesn't believe in ownership of intellectual property.
> I believe that free software and proprietary software should peacefully
> coexist.
This is a key point in the discussion. I don't want to get into details
of Napster itself as the particular use of that tool does not at all
address the issue. Whether the copying is legitimate or not would not
matter to the media monopolists as they see no form of copying legitimate.
The main reason that the music being copied is primarily proprietary is
due to the smaller size of the non-proprietary music industry, a direct
result of the attacks by and the existance of the monopolist industries.
There is even a claimed ownership on compression algorythms used to encode
MP3 files <http://lame.sourceforge.net/> - a clear attempt at the
monopolist mindset to try to keep out of the game the non-proprietary
media. Those like the author of the article reference above who wish to
try to sit on the fence will find themselves knocked off of it pretty
quickly by the monopolist industries.
Why is the above commentary key? It is because it is only the
proprietary thinkers that believe that these two fundamentally opposed
mindsets can coexist peacefully. It is no different than the slave owners
(supporters of another form of private property) claiming that it was a
choice whether or not one owned slaves, and suggesting those who didn't
support slavery should just not own one themselves and leave the slave
owners alone.
The fact is that these two mindsets have never co-existed, but are
constantly at odds with each other. The monopolists use their legal
trickery to keep away all forms of competition, even from those who do not
agree with the reported benefits of their legal structure. Even if I will
never publish a piece of proprietary information (All the software I write
is non-proprietary, primarily GPL. The articles I write are intended to
be freely copyable), I am still expected to obey their laws and not write
software interfacing to their API's, and not write software that uses
their patented algorythms or business practices. My basic ability to live
my life in peace is constantly threatened by the property promoters. The
fact is that those who do not support the ownership of slaves themselve
become the slaves controlled and owned by others.
Do not take this to mean that I do not support any controls on the flow
of information. Just as with the Freedom of individuals, there is always
limits which are imposed on others by communities ("Your right to swing
your cane ends at my nose!" ;-).
There is a huge difference between being a slave and being told you are
not allowed to go anywhere you want (IE: We have legitimate limits of
entering other peoples homes as a protection of privacy). Similarly there
is a very huge difference between claiming ownership to an idea or
expression of an idea, and being granted a temporary "head start" on
marketing a new idea. Many of those like myself who oppose intellectual
property are in support of very limited length patents and copyright that
is dependant on the information type (IE: A news clip in a daily newspaper
would have shorter copyright than an Opera), and with strict requirements
of proof of need for that temporary monopoly.
---
Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://russell.flora.org/work/>
http://www.flora.org/flora.comnet-www/1637 Community radio going private?
http://www.flora.org/flora.comnet-www/1643 More on the "Love Bug"
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