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What you say makes sense, but I still think shares a big fallacy with the book. To convince me you should not concentrate on examples of cases where less copyright would be better - you and me both agree they exist. What I want to hear is how a world with no copyright would be better in the areas where copyright is considered especially useful right now. Like the map example, or the pharmaceutical company. That would convince me it can be better overall. As far as the arbitrary length of the copyright being wrong, I fully agree. But I do not think throwing the baby with the bathwater is a solution. If a way would be found for the market to dictate it that would really be great... but in a way it does. There is commercial lobbies that push it up, and voters who push it down. We definitely need more pushing down lately. About programming... I make my living writing software (freelance). All my clients "rent" my software, and I constantly work on it and update it according to how their business change (and it changes surprisingly often). The model works for both of us because: 1) They do not pay upfront for a big software, which may or may not turn out to be useful. They get much better value for their money, and make me directly motivated to keep the software always useful. 2) I do work more in the beginning, for practically no pay, but for each project I get a new source of income, and overall I make more money (over several years) then if I'd just write a software and leave. Also I like working with people I know. Now, how does this depend on copyright? If, by any chance, the source code of the software would be leaked, the fact that I own the copyright would still force my clients to keep working with me. In a no-copyright world, anybody could take the software, add a few (useful) features and get the contract instead of me. Now I know what you will say. This is better for everybody, right? It's better for the client, because there is more competition, it's better for the guy who could take over because he will get business by doing something good, and it's better for me because it will force me to keep improving my software, right? No. In such a world, I would simply not start the whole thing. EVER. It wouldn't pay. The whole thing depends on me working my ass of in the beginning, and then getting the reward in time. Without copyright, neither me not any other freelancer would start doing the work only to lose the contract in 6 month. Income security is a very direct factor in my decision to do it. And this is not a big evil greedy corporation. This is me working for clients who usually become friends, or at least partners. I worry for their business, because I have a stake in it. And they know it, and value it. And this wouldn't be possible without IP. |