Re: A Question of Ethics
Why? Because we want to encourage and stimulate
innovation (whether it's for a new drug or a new kind
of Jello) and the only way to do that is protect
people's investment in innovation.
The counter-argument is that the concept of intellectual property stifles innovation because only a limited number of people can make improvement. One of the claims of the open source and free software movements is that, by making the source code freely available, innovations and improvements can happen more quickly.
I don't know if either claim has been validated by statistics. However, before you dismiss the counter-argument, consider that scientific research is supposed to proceed by a free exchange of information, too (although obviously it doesn't always). So it's not a Utopian argument, nor one that can be immediately dismissed.
The problem, of course, is that intellectual property is intangible. That makes copyright violations much easier than with a physical product.
One solution is for companies or organizations that allow for easier violation of copyright to pay a regular fee to owners of copyright. That's the compromise that Canadian libraries have with publishers; it doesn't stop people photocopying, but it does give writers some extra cash to compensate for lost sales.
--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
Stillborn love, passionate dreams, pitiful greed
And the silver tongues of the tinker girls
Who throw the book of life at you
But don't know how to read."
-Richard Thompson, "Gypsy Love Songs"
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