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

Re: It's a moral obligation to respect it.

Author:Seth Gordon
Posted:8/25/2000; 10:01:09 AM
Topic:Next survey: Are you an open source developer?
Msg #:20207 (In response to 20190)
Prev/Next:20206 / 20208

So, if passers-by on the sidewalk stop to admire my lawn, do I have a right to demand payment for their experience?

Yes, you absolutely do. Put up a fence and charge admission to your garden....

You missed the point of my analogy.

making a copy : code :: viewing from the sidewalk : lawn

In my lawn example, I want to extract some kind of payment from the mere act of looking at the lawn, even if the people looking don't touch my property. I put effort into the lawn, the viewers are deriving value (enjoyment) from my work, and therefore I deserve compensation from them.

Likewise, you want the legal right to extract copyright-royalties from the mere act of copying your software, even if the act of copying consumes no physical resources that you own. You wouldn't be satisfied with some kind of copy-protection technology, (analogous to an opaque fence around the lawn), without any legal recourse against the people who evade the technology (analogous to people who view my fenced lawn from a plane flying above it).


There are responses to this message:


This page was archived on 6/13/2001; 4:56:16 PM.

© Copyright 1998-2001 UserLand Software, Inc.