Please don't steal this Web content

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Plain and simple, copyright laws are out of step with the people

Wholesale site scraping is a strange thing when you think about it: why make a copy of something that you can access anytime for free? Plagiarism is one answer, and it is a different thing than just making a copy of something. Plagiarism is an act of deception, taking credit for something you didn't create.

The age of electronic communication is upon us, but so many people are trying to wish the genie back into the bottle. The time where physical constraints enforced many restrictions on consumers is past. As mentioned in the article, it's as easy to make a thousand copies as it is one, and once a copy is made of an electronic work, it can be distributed worldwide within seconds.

There are avenues open to copyright owners who want to constrain any use of their content on the web. The most obvious is to use completely proprietary technology, up to and including private communications systems. Use your own wire, your own protocol, your own presentation device, your own payment system. Quit trying to use other peoples' technologies, piggy-backing (without any compensation in most cases) on other peoples' hard work and genius. Make your own system that you control, and build the cost of it into what you charge for your content. And see how successful you are ...

It chaps me a little bit how often copyright holders are willing to exploit loopholes in their favor and are so quick to complain when things don't go exactly the way they intended. But what bothers me even more is that the social contract that created copyright has been distorted beyond recognition. The balance between encouraging creative works and preserving knowledge for the public good has been broken. The media cartels have bribed Congress too much, and taken away too many public protections, and it is time for citizens to fight back.

Posted by: terry flores   Posted on: 08/02/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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