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> Besides which, when is turning abundance into scarcity a good thing? To limit the illegal reproduction of information goods (movies, TV shows, ebooks) which
by sah2ed 9y ago
> Besides which, when is turning abundance into scarcity a good thing?
To limit the illegal reproduction of information goods (movies, TV shows, ebooks) which have zero marginal costs. This is why DRM was invented -- to offer control to copyright holders by creating the illusion of scarcity of information goods which are costly to produce but can be reproduced by anyone at zero cost.
- krrrh 9y agoHow does a blockchain limit illegal reproduction? Having an record of ownership ain’t gonna shut down the torrents whether it’s in a database in Apple’s data center, or on a blockchain. How does this square with blockchain-related projects like IPFS which basically make it impossible to stop piracy?
- sah2ed 9y agoSorry if my reply implied that the blockchain is somehow comparable to DRM -- they are not. I was merely talking about the effects of the blockchain. The outcome of using a blockchain is identical to the outcome of using DRM: they both can be used to engender the illusion of scarcity of something that is not naturally scarce. Without (the illusion of) scarcity, the enforcement of property (or access) rights on the Internet would be impossible; blockchains and DRM enable their enforcement by maintaining records of "who has permission to what and for how long" which is why they are useful.
- ThomPete 9y agoThe illusion of scarcity isn't the point. The point is saving the unique history of an asset. Like leaving your footprint in the digital world like it was in the physical. The art-scene is based on this principle.