distribution again

[John Horvath <h8801joh {AT} ella.hu>]

On Tue, 7 May 1996, Matthew Smith wrote:
> ok, i misunderstood *you*, but the point is that even if u control the 
> content, there is no guarantee that somebody else will not browse along, 
> take ur stuff and work it over in a completely different context and 
> re-distribute it -- without u being in control.

Which takes us back to square one. Actually, this is something that is 
not exclusive to just the net but print and audio publishing in general. 
Starting in Central Europe, the further you move east the worse the 
problem gets. In Hungary, for instance, I would estimate that 95% of all 
graduates at all levels have plaigarized their theses. It somehow does 
not occur to them that to copy something and adding their names to it -- 
even though they may have made some slight alterations -- is illegal. I 
know personally that all my colleagues at the various universities and 
colleges that I have taught at in Hungary have plaigarized; some even 
copying entire texts and blatantly claiming it as their own. In fact, one 
of the main objectives of USIS in Russia is to try and teach that copying 
-- including just plain photocopying of entire works -- is illegal.

Maybe one way to try and solve the problem of stealing your stuff off the 
net is to look at what is being done in other media, such as print and 
audio, and see if there is any way to adapt that to the net. The only 
problem is that this gives governments a reason to start regulating the 
net (or at least to try to). In one way, we are caught in a no-win 
situation: either our stuff is pilfered, or law enforcement creeps in 
with the aim to not only protect our rights, but their position of power 
(economic and political). I'm afraid that at the moment we are facing 
both at the same time.

Any ideas on how to overcome these threats? My idea would be to spread 
your stuff as far and wide as possible so there can be no doubt about who 
the spiritual father/mother of the material really is. However, then 
comes the problem of getting paid for what you produce and then in the 
end you end up working for free and starving to death.

Back to square one, again.

Bye for now,
John

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