>Copyright is nearly useless in a world where there is an infinite supply of any given work for negligible cost. The entire point of copyright is that copies c

>Copyright is nearly useless in a world where there is an infinite supply of any given work for negligible cost. The entire point of copyright is that copies cost significantly less than the original. For example, no one has a copyright on a well cut diamond, because there would be no point. However, if after you put in however much work it takes to cut the diamond, people are able to make perfect duplicates at little to no cost, then you need copyright to protect your initial investment. The only reason it is easier to buy works than pirate them is because copyright does exist, so there are additional barriers to getting the work in a way that the author does not want. As it is today, people buy books through publishers. If there was no copyrights, why should those publishers pay the author anything?