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So we've got two things at hand here: 1) Consumers don't understand the license vs own thing, just like they don't understand really basic copyright issues. Th
by tibbon 15y ago
So we've got two things at hand here:
1) Consumers don't understand the license vs own thing, just like they don't understand really basic copyright issues. This isn't about to change any time soon.
2) I can't think of any better way to handle licensing, unless there's a government-standard 'digital license' (which would probably be a terrible idea/implementation anyway). Consumers say they want to "own" something, but what do they want to own? If you own all the IP to the digital item, then others don't own it, or suddenly you're entitled to a share of the revenue from it? That doesn't make sense. A non-revokable license? Maybe that's what consumers are more asking for, but it has its problems too.
Since consumers often don't know what they want, and don't have the language to describe what they want, it would seem a conversation that isn't going to go far.
- SoftwareMaven 15y agoPeople's intuitions are based on the physical world: I paid the same price as I would have for a game on a DVD, so I should have the same rights as a DVD, which means 1( the company can't steal it back, 2) I can sell it to somebody else, or 3) I can give it away. The problem is that publishers want their cake and to eat it, too: sell for the high price that includes covering the cost of the secondary market and kill the secondary market.
- wmf 15y agoI think consumers do understand how things should work; the fact that the law doesn't agree with that is the law's problem. I don't know who came up with the saying "treat this software as you would treat a book", but it's a great idea IMO — over the last few hundred years we've come up with a pretty fair and balanced way of handling books.
- teamonkey 15y agoI love the idea of a 'standard' digital license, but I agree that it's best not to let a government decide what that is. I think an organisation like the EFF could provide the template.