I don't own the letters A-Z or a-z. I don't own the digits 0-9. I don't own any words in the Oxford English dictionary. I can create and copyright a unique collection of those words ( an novel, short story, new article, lyrics, etc.) A computer program is created as a collection of words - a unique collection of those words, that when compiled and executed on a target OS will (hopefully!) perform some function(s). To say that a software author cannot "own" that software nor have copyrights to it is the same as to say an author / poet / screenwriter / columnist / etc. cannot have any control over his work (or get paid for doing it) once it is finished. Phil J. On Tue, Feb 21, 2006 at 07:42:26PM -0600, Jan Depner wrote: > If you want to compare apples to apples instead of > apples to colostomy bags how about explaining how software is different > from your latest song, novel, poem, picture. A computer program can be written as a big integer. Moreover, a computer program has no representation that is not a big integer. A song, novel, poem, picture, all have representations that are not integers. In particular, they are objects (though I contend that the relevant fact is that they are not integers). Since there is no difference between some big integer and a computer program, you must defend a copyright against either use. You have a computer program and I am doing math. I email you my results, and it contains the number of your program. I am using your program without a license. After all, *you have no way to tell that I am not*. Alternatively, a good way to make illegal copies of software would be to send an email that demonstrated some math. At a predetermined point, some number would be the program in question. You couldn't claim copyright infringment, because you have *no way of telling that I'm not doing math*. Philisophically, if you accept ownership of software, I don't see how you can not accept ownership of numbers without somehow appealing to the intent of the user. Artistic objects you mentioned like the above have representations that are not integers. Though I can have a digital representation of a painting that is an integer, I can also have an object that bears no sensible mapping to the integers. So I argue that unlike computer programs, things that are merely "digitizable" are very different from things that are only "digital". -- Ross Vandegrift ross@xxxxxxxxxxxx "The good Christian should beware of mathematicians, and all those who make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine man in the bonds of Hell." --St. Augustine, De Genesi ad Litteram, Book II, xviii, 37
