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I recently got into a very lengthy argument with a friend of mine about this very issue. I argued that because sharing content is becoming so easy, the ability
by marknutter 16y ago
I recently got into a very lengthy argument with a friend of mine about this very issue. I argued that because sharing content is becoming so easy, the ability to protect copyrights and patents will disappear, and at some point we (or the next generation) will decide that it's in the better interest of society to embrace free sharing of ideas and reject the concept of owning information.
There's no doubt that a lot of people will lose jobs over it, and current industries and businesses as we know them will cease to exist, but that doesn't mean the music will stop. If anything, it will remove the people who are creating content just for the money and increase the overall quality of all content, media, and information.
It's going to happen, there's no question about this. It's just amusing to watch people desperately hold onto the old ways. I imagine this is quite like the transition into the industrial age was; fascinating to watch and be a part of.
- Aetius 16y agoNot sure I agree. Property rights are maintained through the use of force. I don't think that will ever change.
- kiba 16y agoA historical anecdote from memory: There was once upon a time, expensive sheetmusics. However, the advent of technologies has allowed sheet musics to thrive. The incumbent companies respond with ever more forces, to the point of making the police raid pirates' distribution center. However, the police eventually give up and move on to other things. Thus, end the sheet music wars and expensive sheet musics were never seen again.
- ShardPhoenix 16y agoWith the internet and encryption, eventually only an all-encompassing police state will be able to prevent copying.
- tkahn6 16y agowe (or the next generation) will decide that it's in the better interest of society to embrace free sharing of ideas and reject the concept of owning information Um... what? Can you clarify what you mean by "information"? In the Physical sense, everything is information. I know you don't intend to be that literal, but it sounds like you're proposing that we totally do away with property rights.
- marknutter 16y agoI mean anything that can be copied without destroying or removing the original.
- graphene 16y agoI don't want to speak for the parent, but in my opinion, there is a clean separation between matter (ultimately consisting of atoms) and the information embodied in the arrangement of those atoms (eg in a book or DVD disk). In this scheme, property rights would protect the atoms themselves, but not the information of how they are distributed. I don't know what it would mean to regard the atoms themselves, without reference to their surroundings, as information, as you seem to imply.