Ownership in Software

[Axel Schulz]

Hej!


Believe it or not I just looked into a book before I get crazy here ;-)  And now I am certain. A famous professor in this field talks exclusively about "ownership".

But what you explain to me is so sound!!! Now I am completely confused. I recognized already  that the understanding of ownership differs between you (the list members) and  me.

> You're talking about information, which is a far cry from property.

Well, but software is more than that. And if I just hold a authorship in software I would not be able to protect the "excecutable" part of the software, or?

> Copyright is only a special privilege granted to the way one expresses
> information, not the information itself.

If I follow you than copyright (in authorship) and ownership do not fit, right? But a copyright in software works like a right to "ownership", or a means "ownership", doesn't it?

> Copyright wasn't designed as a property right, quite self-consciously
> because it participates in the realm of information. 

Yes, but that had to change! Consider my "information on supply" argument.


After all, I think my freedom argument is still sound. You reject it because of good reason. I stick to it. 

But now I have to sleep!

Axel




Seth Johnson <seth.johnson at RealMeasures.dyndns.org> schrieb am 21.04.04 23:02:08:
> 
> 
> Axel,
> 
> You're talking about information, which is a far cry from property.
> 
> Copyright is only a special privilege granted to the way one expresses
> information, not the information itself.
> 
> Copyright wasn't designed as a property right, quite self-consciously
> because it participates in the realm of information.  Copyright was designed
> to foster the greater dissemination of useful information by granting
> authors the privilege of being paid for each static copy of their original
> expression that's produced.
> 
> Information production is a good bit different from other forms,
> particularly in the kind of product that's produced.  Ideality is not the
> sort of thing that can been "owned" in the first place, because it's
> inherently shared as soon as it's communicated -- and when it comes to logic
> and algorithms, you're definitely comfortably in the realm of ideality.
> 
> You're concerned about the producer's ability to exact value for her labor. 
> There are many ways to do that; they don't necessarily require overturning
> age-old understanding and common sense regarding the character of
> information as such.
> 
> 
> Seth
> 
>