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Originally Posted by CannibalSmith  Flawed analogy.
I think I just realized the essence of the problem. Which is: it is impossible to distinguish a deliberate copy from a coincidentally identical pattern.
Audiovisual data, and all other data are patterns that we create. It is not ethical to copy someone else's pattern. It is ethical to create an identical pattern from scratch. Because it is unknowable if a certain pattern is a copy, a completely fair solution is not possible. |
Although you are technically correct, copyright laws are about as fair as they can be. The possibility of creating a data pattern (assuming, of course, that this is a relatively well thought out or complex data pattern, which any work of value should be) that is identical to someone else’s is statistically insignificant. So, my “corn” analogy is correct, considering the fact that corn is all very similar in appearance and properties. It’s not the hypothetical corn which is being copyrighted, it’s my corn ( the product that I grew ). And that is the real point.
I’d like to point something out to everyone out there who seems to dislike these laws. Steve said in his Copyright and Intellectual Property blog post “In fact, for the most part I consider the anti-copyright fanatics rather juvenile and intellectually immature. Too often their utopian language is merely a hollow shell around the desire to get something for nothing”. I couldn't agree more.
There is something socially parasitic about the idea of being anti-copyright, and for anyone doing a blog, having these beliefs raises some serious questions about the value of your content. You can come up with as many abstract, philosophical justifications you like (it wouldn't be difficult to modify those justifications into rationales for anything; if you really think about it, a dictator could use almost identical, personal justifications, when thinking about committing genocide). Philosophy can be warped and contorted, but human motivations don’t lie. So ask yourself, do you disagree with copyright laws because you know, deep down, that you will never benefit from them and that having them around only impedes you in getting free stuff? Asking yourself these sorts of questions is essential to personal development and improvement.
I’ll just assume that any negative feedback that I receive from this post, means that I’m closer to the mark then some might like.