Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

is copyright a moral obligation?

Author:Seth Gordon
Posted:8/25/2000; 8:43:03 AM
Topic:Next survey: Are you an open source developer?
Msg #:20184 (In response to 20160)
Prev/Next:20183 / 20185

It takes time, effort, and talent to create good code -- and Heaven knows that there's not anywhere near enough of it. It takes sweat and dedication, and it's appropriate to reward people for expending the time and effort to do it.
Ah, but is it appropriate to reward those people through the mechanism of copyright? (Everybody, RMS included, thinks it's OK to, say, hire a programmer as a contractor to make some custom software for you, and pay the programmer for the effort.)

Suppose, for example, I own a house with a lawn, and I expend a lot of effort on beautifying and landscaping the lawn. It takes time, effort, and talent to create a good lawn -- and Heaven knows that there aren't anywhere near enough good lawns out there. So, if passers-by on the sidewalk stop to admire my lawn, do I have a right to demand payment for their experience? If the house next door to mine sells at a higher price because of its proximity to my beautiful lawn, am I entitled to a share of the proceeds?

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