| > HBO has no obligation to do what a bunch of people on the internet who think they understand HBO's business better than HBO does think they should do. They have no legal obligation. Currently, anyhow. But you forget who makes the laws, and how the content gets delivered, and what people make this content out of. Copyright is a temporary and limited monopoly granted by the people to encourage the production of intellectual property. The laws we have are an artifact of the economics and politics of their time. Information technology has radically changed both the economics and society's views. The laws will likely change as well. HBO didn't invent dragons or kings or sex. They didn't create the Internet. They don't own the public airwaves or the public land over which the cables run. They don't own the fans. They didn't make the social media sites and bar tables where they get their word-of-mouth publicity. HBO and all involved should be fairly compensated for their hard work and creativity. But the property rights you treat as absolutes are just convenient fictions we created together. People shouldn't feel entitled to the Game of Thrones. But neither should Time Warner executives feel entitled to use the public courts and police to ruin people's lives for sharing things they like. We're living in the greatest revolution in information production and distribution since Gutenberg. Things will change. |