Author: Dan Newman
Date: 12:05:57 07/20/98
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On July 19, 1998 at 14:47:11, Don Dailey wrote: > >I believe there should be no restrictions on making copies of anything >that is copyable including music, software books and yes, even IDEAS. > >In this society however it may not be feasable since we live in a >pretty materialistic one. I honor the rules myself, I have signed >nondisclosure agreements and marketed programs myself. But if I >wrote the rules I would relax or do away with these restrictions, >perhaps slowly so as to not disrupt things too much. > >Something doesn't seem quite right about considering an idea as >something you can legally OWN. I understand the reasoning behind >this and have heard all the arguments. But an idea is something >that is discovered, not created. And in my opinion ANY idea >should be in the public domain. > As far as I understand it, ideas can neither be patented nor copyrighted--they are all public domain. Ideas, theories, mathematical equations and such are free and can be used by anyone. It's the implementations of those things that are given protection. (Hence algorithms shouldn't be patentable since they are really mathematical expressions, IMHO.) The reason for patents and copyrights is not really to protect individual rights or ownership--though that is their direct effect--but to encourge people to create stuff in the first place. If these protections were not there, the monetary incentive for creation of new things would be nil. In other words, these protections are really there for the people on the consuming end. >I have no problem with selling anything people will buy. But I >don't like the artificial restriction of limiting what they can >do with this product once they have it. I know this is extreme >but I basically feel this way about patents and copyrights. >They are all based on the concept of "ownership" of something >that should be free in my opinion. I certainly think it should be OK to make backup copies, or if you have two machines, to have a copy on each--provided you are the only user. As long as the copies are only for personal use I don't see much of a problem--though I think the owners of the copyright/patent may see otherwise. But remember, the copyright and patent are not really there to protect the owners but to encourge generation of new/improved products. I think this effect will not be significantly reduced by people making personal copies of software they've already bought. -Dan. > >I know these ideas would not work very well in todays society >and like I say, we have to live by the rules. I oppose software >piracy for this very reason, but not in principle. > >- Don
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