Stut wrote:
This conversation is getting pointless guys.
I agree that it's going round in circles, and is best left alone.
* Nobody thinks copyright infringement is a good thing and nobody is denying that it causes harm to every layer of the commercial chain that exists to create and publish copyrighted work
If that were the case, I don't think this would have dragged out so long. The book that Larry Garfield pointed to ("Free Culture" by Larry Lessig) argues that *some* copyright infringement is harmless, and in certain circumstances, it can be beneficial (for example, when a work is out of print). Larry Lessig's arguments are quite persuasive and worthy of consideration. And for the record, Larry Lessig is in favour of seeing creators of original material receive fair payment for their efforts.
It's irrelevant whether copyright infringement is "stealing", or whether big companies are making too much money out of rights management. Copyright infringement is against the law in most countries, and it does disproportionate damage to the vast majority of artists and authors. End of story.
David Powers -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
