[WEB4LIB] Re: Computers in Libraries and the death of copyright

[Thomas Dowling]

> Copyright is a matter of law and ethics, and only secondarily of
> enforcement. What I see from Gary M. and Roy T. (sigh) is a reversal--a
> universal equivalent of the nasty little driver's saying "If there are
no
> cops, there is no speed limit." In other words: if you can't _prevent_
me
> from taking intellectual property without compensation, then it's jus'
fine
> for me and anyone else to do that.
>

But there *are* cops, and there *is* a speed limit--but the low
probability of being caught, and the penalties for being caught combine
with individual judgement to create a de facto speed limit that is (in
Ohio), about 10-15% above the posted limit.  A few reckless individuals
push it, but that's a bell curve for you.  Key features of this system
are: someone's responsible for enforcement (the police); there's a
technology for clear-cut detection (radar); and penalties are pretty fair
and quickly delivered--not a slap on the wrist, but not a $250-million
dollar multi-year lawsuit, either.

I believe there could be a rational de facto copyright policy on the
internet, if those features could be brought in.  Is someone responsible
for enforcement?  No one in particular, and it's ludicrous to expect
copyright holders to do their own enforcement.  Is there a technology for
detection?  Nothing standardized, but I can easily imagine web crawlers
looking for things like invisible watermarks or PGP signatures that don't
match the site where files are found.  And do most potential abusers think
the potential penalties are fair?  No.  The reaction of victims has so far
been to band together and sue for astronimical damages calculated to
destroy the offender.  That's not justice; that's vengeance, and obviously
has no deterrent value.  Rather the opposite; offenders start to see
themselves as martyrs.  Also, victims who can't see their way to claiming
millions in losses feel like they have no recourse.

Find a workable system, with realistic expectations about how it will be
observed, and with real-world ideas about penalties, and I bet you get a
reasonable approximation of compliance.


Thomas Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu