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in reply to Re: OT: Preserving Information
in thread OT: Preserving Information

You have a lot of good points, in fact I'm very curious about the legal ramifications of backing-up someone else's work without permission. From a legal standpoint, I think the issue seems like it could fall into a gray area, depending on the specific case, but what about the potential value to society?

If information is available that has a positive social impact, shouldn't it be preserved? We preserve things from days gone by, works of art, books, poems, etc, for the betterment of society and to give us a better understanding of ourselves. Why does this no longer apply to today's world? I'm truly curious why this has changed in modern times (I know the direct reason is copyrights) and I wonder if it's for good or bad.

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Re: OT: Preserving Information
by Abigail-II (Bishop) on Oct 08, 2002 at 16:55 UTC
    The backing up isn't the problem. But what are you going to do with the backup? Copyright law allows you to make a backup for personal usage. Redistributing, even a single copy to a friend, isn't allowed.

    Potential value of society is a subjective measurement, which, luckely, doesn't play any role in copyright laws. Would you think it's a good idea Microsoft incorperates GNU licensed software in their closed software because of the "potential value to society"?

    Abigail

[reply]

      What constitutes redistribution?

      If I show my backup copy of something to a friend - is that re-distribution?

      If he views the backup on my machine, on his screen through some mechanism - is that redistribution?

      Cor! Like yer ring! ... HALO dammit! ... 'Ave it yer way! Hal-lo, Mister la-de-da. ... Like yer ring!
[reply]
        Well, that depends on what you mean by "showing". It's not if he's looking over your shoulder (compare that with watching a video or DVD together), but it would be if you give him a copy (compare that with xeroxing a book).

        Abigail

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