On 3/29/07, Bradley Hook bhook@kssb.net wrote:
While the consumer has a responsibility to acquire and use content in a legal and legitimate manner, the content creator has a responsibility to the consumer. I have no problem paying an author/artist a fair fee for their creation or performance. I do have a problem with that author/artist expecting to rake in ridiculous royalties for the next 70 years based on the 6 months it took to produce something, and on every single copy created even when the consumer is footing the bill for reproduction.
It's the same thing with software. I have no problem paying someone an hourly wage to code a project for me. I have no problem paying them more money to come out and spend time fixing code or adding a new feature for me. I do have a problem with paying a company a yearly license fee to have the right to continue using software which I (and millions of others) have already paid for 3 or 4 times.
Copyright and IP laws in the US have developed into an absurd mess of legal bullshit that is hurting our intellectual growth. So if you are going to dive into the ethics of this stuff, make sure you consider both angles:
Ethical responsibility of consumers to content creators. Ethical responsibility of content creators to the general public.
You can't have one without the other, else you create an unsustainable system.
~Bradley _______________________________________________
VERY good points! And just the sort of constructive comments this issue demands. I hold with the "reasonable time" concept of ROYALTY payment