Salvos Against Big Brother

I'm going to be writing a regular column on the subject of electronic publishing, and the challenges it poses to modern society—as well as the opportunity it provides. This column will take up a number of related issues, including such matters as the proper length of...

Originally published in Jim Baen's Universe, Vol 1 Num 2, August 2006   I want to continue my discussion of copyright, which I began in last issue's column, before turning my attention to the issue of so-called "Digital Rights Management" itself. The reason I...

I ended my last essay by presenting the general principles needed to answer the question, how long should copyright terms last? For those of you who didn't read or don't remember what I said, here it is: First, authors need to have enough protection to enable them to...

Although this column addresses the controversy surrounding so-called Digital Rights Management, I devoted my first three essays to a discussion of the general principles concerning copyright as such. As I explained, I did that because it's impossible to discuss DRM...

In my last essay, I ended by saying that the claims made today on behalf of DRM—that stands for "Digital Rights Management"—can be summarized as follows: The advent of digital media makes it so effortless to copy an intellectual creator's work that traditional notions...

I ended my last essay as follows: Is it true that modern electronic devices have made copyright infringement "so effortless" that it has become —or threatens to become— a serious menace to legitimate copyright owners? The answer is "no." In the next issue, I'll...