From: Chad Perrin <perrin@...>
Date: 2007-03-28T06:40:03+09:00
Subject: Re: free pdf ebook

On Mon, Mar 26, 2007 at 12:45:13PM +0900, Gary Wright wrote:
> 
> On Mar 23, 2007, at 12:01 PM, Dave Thomas wrote:
> >Earlier, you said you were in favor of free markets. Most  
> >economists believe that property rights is one of the key  
> >underpinnings of such a system: if you have no property rights, you  
> >can't transfer that capital, and you can't use it as collateral  
> >when raising funds. de Soto has a great book on the subject,  
> >explaining why weak property rights cause great inefficiencies in  
> >developing economies.
> 
> I doesn't seem to me that Chad's comments are
> in contradiction to your points on property rights.

That's correct.  In fact, I agree with Dave's paragraph in full, with
the exception of the implication that I don't agree with it.  The only
problem that arises is that I'm inclined to differentiate between actual
property rights and "intellectual property rights", which are a market
externality imposed with the justification of encouraging innovation (no
comment at this exact moment on the worth of that justification).


> 
> I think he was just pointing out that 'theft' is
> a term that has a well defined ethical and legal
> meaning with respect to personal property but has
> no well-defined ethical or legal meaning with
> respect to copyright, trademarks, or patents.  It
> is true that many people use the term 'theft'
> with respect to these concepts but Chad's point is
> that it is a usage pattern that obfuscates rather
> than clarifies the discussion.  At least that is
> the sense I got from his postings.
> 
> So you can be a strong property rights proponent
> and simultaneously insist that copyright infringement
> is not 'theft'.

Precisely -- and thank you for that excellent clarification.

-- 
CCD CopyWrite Chad Perrin [ http://ccd.apotheon.org ]
"A script is what you give the actors.  A program
is what you give the audience." - Larry Wall