Thank You

[Nick]

On Tue, 04 Nov 2014 09:54:47 +0000
Alan Milewczyk <alan at soulman1949.com> wrote:

> I'm amazed at these discussions.

I wonder how many BBC people are actually subscribed to the list. And
I'm not angling for a list admin to look, it is private. But there's
gotta be some lovies watching, at least :)

> 
> The issue for the BBC is one of the protection of intellectual
> property. Yes, the problem has been around since recording devices
> became available but since the advent of digital technology it has
> spiralled out of all belief as a problem to the copyright holder.

Technology has moved on and what protections made sense are now much
more questionable. In the past ownership was granted and then
generally money was made off distribution. Tech has nailed much of the
value provided by those that used to find artists, record them, and get
that into our hands on bits of plastic.

The protections have gotten so huge too over the decades of IP
industries that I think UK copyright is life of the author plus 70
years! Contemporary culture stands to largely be locked up for
generations.

There is problem for non-copyright holders too.

I dunno how to reward artists and producers for their labours, but the
system we have now and where it looks to be going is IMHO increasingly
unrealistic.

> 
> Digital gives us the unprecedented ability to make a perfect copy,
> not a lossy copy as with tape (whether audio or video). It enables us
> to make copies faster than ever before, even without ever "holding"
> that medium in one's hands.

Mills made hand spinning obsolete, it enabled perfect copies to made
faster than ever before, etc..

I am no bloody libertarian though, I hate to see people's livelihoods
vanish. So when I say I dunno how to reward people I mean it! I hate to
play a blunt economic card when livings are at stake.

> Don't get me wrong, I am a massive fan of get_iplayer, but I think 
> protestations of the sort described in these threads will fall on
> deaf ears. Just be thankful we have people with the technical ability
> to keep up with whatever barriers are put our way!

Which is the irony of the enforcement of OTT IP. The restrictions won't
ever truly work - even with some closed network, server and client
system the end-user could still video the screen. And how much is a
phone these days that can video something? :)

But if you see that barriers aren't worth it because things have
changed, then perhaps you can see why I think the system driving desire
for those barriers might need changing?

Nick