Subject: Re: Fair use, copyright etc. From: dowjone!rexb (Rex Ballard) Date: Fri, 25 Feb 94 23:17:46 EST

Cc: online-news@marketplace.com
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> This has been an interesting thread and I don't wish to add fuel to the
> flames which have started just to toss in the following -

Oh, let's put out this fire, shall we.

> copyright is based on the idea of information as an artifact that you can
> copy and where that copy can be identified.  In any kind of networked
> world it will be trivially easy to copy and detection will be extremely
> difficult. A law based on copying cannot stand in this environment.

There isn't a great deal of difference between the internet and the
"Performance Royalties" collected and managed by BMI and ASCAP.

> The problem is how do you reward people for their intellectual work. 
> Copyright isn't going to be a viable method.  We need something else. 
> Sponsorship and the rich patron for slow moving material, subscription for
> fast moving perhaps.

Actually, you are quite close.  By collecting subscriptions fees of say
$30/month from 100 million users of the internet for flat fee royalties,
you have a source of revenue which can be distributed based on recorded
traffic.  Servers which want to be paid would just pass the user-id,
internet address, and des encrypted "Key" to the appropriate server.

An "archie" like query through a private network, or a public key network
would yeild an authorization from a distributor who received payments
from that user.  Much like EDI, these would be legally binding agreements.

Hosts could pay a flat rate per user or a bulk rate per gigabyte retrieved.
Dow Jones charges it's customers a flat rate during the evenings and
an hourly rate plus a set rate per kilobyte retrieved.  We assume that
the operator is a librarian who will probably distribute it to others
electronically.

We also send bulk data from hour news wires for a flat monthly rate per
hundred users.  Again, we don't care whether every user gets every byte
or whether the librarian cuts the best stuff and emails it to the upper
management distribution lists.  We even have rates per 1000 users
for those really big companies.

What you get is reliable information you can take to the bank (or your
stock broker), complete with information for contacting the source
companies in many cases.

> Tony

	Rex Ballard
Personal Opionions, Not Facts.

From jvncnet!marketplace.com!owner-online-news Mon Feb 28 10:20:24 1994