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Technology, economics, and society don't develop independent of each other. Due to physical distribution constraints, there were artificial limits on how widely

Technology, economics, and society don't develop independent of each other. Due to physical distribution constraints, there were artificial limits on how widely a single book copy could be distributed. Hence, simplest system that compensated all parties appropriately, was the the policy of a fixed fee to individual buyer and library (the "first sale doctrine" may also apply here). Now, with the Internet allowing practically infinite lending, should the policy be different? Probably. Think about it the dual of your though experiment: if lending libraries were invented in a world with effortless, almost-infinite lending among a 25-million-or-so "library", don't you think per-usage charges would be an automatic feature? Btw,AFAIK DVD rentals work this way: Netflix can't rent out more than 100 times or so before paying for a new copy. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

esrauch 15y ago
If Netflix wanted to go to Best Buy and buy dvds and lend them out they legally could, but that doesn't stop the content providers from being able to make other deals like this. It easily could be worth it for netflix if the dvds need to be replaced less than every 100 viewings on average.
jellicle 15y ago
> Now, with the Internet allowing practically infinite lending, should the policy be different? Probably. Well sure. The question is whether something that has no inherent cost (electronic duplication) should have an artificial cost imposed on it for no apparent reason. The answer is clearly no. > Btw,AFAIK DVD rentals work this way: Netflix can't rent out more than 100 times or so before paying for a new copy. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Any DVD purchaser can lend them, just as any book purchaser can lend them. This has been litigated.
- rprasad 15y ago
  >Any DVD purchaser can lend them, just as any book purchaser can lend them. This has been litigated. He means that the DVD wears out after 100 or so views, so Netflix must buy a new one. In other words, the DVD is not an infinite good.

esrauch 15y ago

If Netflix wanted to go to Best Buy and buy dvds and lend them out they legally could, but that doesn't stop the content providers from being able to make other deals like this. It easily could be worth it for netflix if the dvds need to be replaced less than every 100 viewings on average.

jellicle 15y ago

> Now, with the Internet allowing practically infinite lending, should the policy be different? Probably. Well sure. The question is whether something that has no inherent cost (electronic duplication) should have an artificial cost imposed on it for no apparent reason. The answer is clearly no. > Btw,AFAIK DVD rentals work this way: Netflix can't rent out more than 100 times or so before paying for a new copy. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Any DVD purchaser can lend them, just as any book purchaser can lend them. This has been litigated.

rprasad 15y ago
>Any DVD purchaser can lend them, just as any book purchaser can lend them. This has been litigated. He means that the DVD wears out after 100 or so views, so Netflix must buy a new one. In other words, the DVD is not an infinite good.