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>With the Open Source movement, Steven King making his new book available for a voluntary fee,
>Napster/Gnutella/other software making music copyrights unenforceable, I
>think we're in for some big changes.
I agree that the Open Source movement is a challenge to
traditional copyright.
However, I'd like to stress that the Open Source movement (and
its parent, the Free Software movement) is about voluntarily
granting users the right to copy - not about copying without the
creator's permission.
While many supporters of the Open Source movement also support
Napster and related technologies, most of its leading advocates,
including Linux Torvalds, Eric Raymond, Bruce Perens and Larry
Wall have all spoken out against piracy. Many have also expressed
at least limited support for the concept of intellectual
property. In fact, if you search Bruce Peren's Technocrat.net
site, you'll find an editorial urging that people not support
Napster-like practices, because doing so would discredit the
movement.
--
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com | Tel: 604.421.7189
"I never had the chance to prove them wrong,
My time was short, the story long,
No, I never had the chance to prove them wrong,
It's always them who write the song."
- Oyster Band, "Oxford Girl"
