is copyright evil? (Re: about warez.at)

[joack at gmx.net]

On 20 Oct 01, at 15:47, Tomasz Wegrzanowski wrote:


> Without copyright law there would be no proprietary software companies
> (why would they exist ?), so there would be no problem.
You're wrong here; I'm working on a history of just this problem just 
now (M.A.thesis) an in the course have read quite a few articles in 
the "communications of the acm" (http:www.acm.org) all of the 
early to late 1960s when copyrighting for software was being 
discussed as a possibility for "securing" software. If you read these 
you'll soon find references to source code being withheld. Why, 
because companies (existing even without copyright) found 
advantages in doing this. You'd have to topple capitalism to change 
this! ..and up to now we weren't about that, were we?
So the only way to change the situation is to create an invironment 
in which companies are DIS-advantaged when withholding their 
source code and breaking one or afew copyrights wont change that 
in a hurry.


> For music it's notes or whatever is used to control modern musicplaying
> hardware. I can't tell you what's movie's source, but you can't make new
> movie just from looking at current one. And in most movies there's lot of
> computer rendering for special effects etc., and you don't get it with a
> movie.
If you have a musical ear you'll always be able to replay a peace of 
music, because sounds of music relate directly to the notes. and if 
you HAVE the film propper (the roles, that is) you can always put 
new pictures in if you have the machinery to do so - no source 
code as such.

Joachim