Against Monopoly

defending the right to innovate

Monopoly corrupts. Absolute monopoly corrupts absolutely.

When copyright forces copying against your will

Back when libraries only had printed material, they could lend books under the first sale doctrine: once they had purchased a legally copyrighted work, they could sell or dispose of it as the see fit. Things have changed a bit with the advent of online content. To prevent libraries from giving away PDFs, publishers are now licensing on-line content, which is different from selling: use is limited to library premises, usually extended to a campus.

This raises issues with inter-library loans (ILL). No problems with hard copies, which are lent physically and returned. With online content, licenses do not allow to simply forward a PDF file. As Elsevier makes explicit in its policy, the requested item needs to be printed, then scanned before being send through Ariel (an electronic ILL network most libraries use). Thus, copyright rules lead to more paper being wasted because content is online. Great for efficiency and the environment.

Hat tips: Peter Suber and DigitalKoans.

[Posted at 03/02/2008 07:59 PM by Christian Zimmermann on Fair Use comments(0)]

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IP is not a joke Bill: Absolutely. Parody and satire are protected under fair use. Mad Magazine (among many

at 02/09/2010 05:41 AM by Anonymous

IP is not a joke Couldn't it be used under the fair use

at 02/08/2010 03:22 PM by Bill Stepp

Goldman does in AIG, you, and me Predatory Lending is a major contributor to the economic turmoil we are currently

at 02/08/2010 03:07 PM by jmb27

Common Sense Seth - I'm not sure how your comment @ 5:57pm casts any illumination on your earlier position. If I

at 02/08/2010 02:03 PM by Justin Levine

Lessig: Congress is broken and Obama has failed Anon, state granted monopolies are effectively licenses for corporations to collect taxes on

at 02/08/2010 01:50 PM by Crosbie Fitch

Lessig: Congress is broken and Obama has failed It does seem strange to me that when we are faced with the possibility of a 23 trillion dollar

at 02/08/2010 01:18 PM by Anonymous

The Patent, Copyright, Trademark, and Trade Secret Horror Files Fred, I recognise that 'natural monopoly' may have a more specialised meaning for economists, and

at 02/08/2010 07:19 AM by Crosbie Fitch

Lessig: Congress is broken and Obama has failed Fred, I'm doing something immediately. I'm working on the Contingency Market. this is something

at 02/08/2010 06:53 AM by Crosbie Fitch

The Patent, Copyright, Trademark, and Trade Secret Horror Files @Crosbie: I agree *natural monopolies* do exist, despite any tendency for SK and Bill Stepp to shut

at 02/07/2010 10:21 PM by Fred McTaker

Lessig: Congress is broken and Obama has failed I thank John Bennett for this post, and for the quality of his posts here in general. I've been

at 02/07/2010 09:02 PM by Fred McTaker

Book List

Boldrin and Levine Against Intellectual Monopoly

Stephan Kinsella Against Intellectual Property

The IP Policy Wiki