Comments on: http://gowers.openrightsgroup.org/2006-03/9/ Open Rights Group Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:33:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: James http://gowers.openrightsgroup.org/2006-03/9/comment-page-1/#comment-47 James Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:58:31 +0000 http://gowers.openrightsgroup.org/?p=9#comment-47 Put bluntly, the point being missed is: Need a decent encyclopedia? Try http://wikipedia.org (an encyclopedia created by the people for the people and recently confirmed as being as accurate as Encylopedia Britannica). There is something envigorating (for me) about being able to go to wikipedia.org and immediately correct articles - almost invariably just the odd spelling / grammar mistake generated by an enthusiastic contributor who may not have English as a first language. Put bluntly, the point being missed is:

Need a decent encyclopedia? Try http://wikipedia.org (an encyclopedia created by the people for the people and recently confirmed as being as accurate as Encylopedia Britannica).

There is something envigorating (for me) about being able to go to wikipedia.org and immediately correct articles – almost invariably just the odd spelling / grammar mistake generated by an enthusiastic contributor who may not have English as a first language.

]]> By: Tom Morris http://gowers.openrightsgroup.org/2006-03/9/comment-page-1/#comment-36 Tom Morris Mon, 27 Mar 2006 23:21:42 +0000 http://gowers.openrightsgroup.org/?p=9#comment-36 The last sentence in this section seems important too. Copyright valuation can be rather ridiculous - the Curry case in the Netherlands illustrated this. Curry recieved a valuation of his CC-licenced (Attr-NC-SA) images at €1,500 per image because he has not got a current commercial interest in their reproduction. Meanwhile, a song taken from a DRM network is valued at many, many, many times the value of it. Currently, the going rate for a 128kbps file is 79 pence / 99 US cents / 99 € cents (what Apple's iTunes charges). Why then is copyright infringement of commercial music valued much higher than other copyright violations? The last sentence in this section seems important too. Copyright valuation can be rather ridiculous – the Curry case in the Netherlands illustrated this. Curry recieved a valuation of his CC-licenced (Attr-NC-SA) images at €1,500 per image because he has not got a current commercial interest in their reproduction. Meanwhile, a song taken from a DRM network is valued at many, many, many times the value of it. Currently, the going rate for a 128kbps file is 79 pence / 99 US cents / 99 € cents (what Apple’s iTunes charges). Why then is copyright infringement of commercial music valued much higher than other copyright violations?

]]> By: Mark Levitt http://gowers.openrightsgroup.org/2006-03/9/comment-page-1/#comment-35 Mark Levitt Wed, 22 Mar 2006 21:28:15 +0000 http://gowers.openrightsgroup.org/?p=9#comment-35 It should be noted, of course, that the "advent of high-speed digital networks has made it increasingly easy to copy and share digital information quickly, easily and without appreciable loss of quality" also means that the price producers can charge should drop. Consumers aren't stupid. They know that the cost of production for music delivered digitaly is lower than that of a physical CD. So, they rightly expect to pay less. The use of DRM by the industry is often more about monopolistic price fixing than piracy. The producers don't want consumer price pressure to affect their bottom line. It should be noted, of course, that the “advent of high-speed digital networks has made it increasingly easy to copy and share digital information quickly, easily and without appreciable loss of quality” also means that the price producers can charge should drop.

Consumers aren’t stupid. They know that the cost of production for music delivered digitaly is lower than that of a physical CD. So, they rightly expect to pay less.

The use of DRM by the industry is often more about monopolistic price fixing than piracy. The producers don’t want consumer price pressure to affect their bottom line.

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