[Avodah] Copyright redux

[Daniel Israel]

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:02:13 -0700 Jacob Farkas 
<jfarkas at compufar.com> wrote:
>I could see the argument of Zuto shel Yam WRT file-sharing via the 
>Internet. The product is out of the owner's realm altogether, and 
>he has no ability to stop anyone from downloading it. Even if he 
is 
>satisfied by the possibility that law enforcement may interject on 
his 
>behalf, the reality is that no one is Someikh that his "losses" 
will be 
>recovered in Civil Court. The handful of cases that are brought up 
>against individuals for file sharing, is a drop in the sea 
compared 
>to the amount of material that is actually pirated.

I don't see it, though.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but the issue 
here is ye'ush, no?  In the zuto shel yam case, first I don't 
expect anyone to find the item in the first place, and even if they 
do, I don't think there is any way that I could find out in order 
to recover it.  So I have ye'ush.  But with internet file sharing, 
I absolutely expect people to "find" the item (that's the whole 
point), and furthermore, I can very clearly declare that I am 
makpid.  In other words, I think there is a very great difference 
between ye'ush because I could never identify who has taken my 
item, and the case where it is just not cost effective to try to 
recover $2.50 from 100,000 individuals.  In the latter case I may 
not bother, but can we really call that ye'ush?  If I require 
payment with the expectation that the %1 of people who are careful 
will pay me, isn't everyone who doesn't do so a ganef?

--
Daniel M. Israel
dmi1 at cornell.edu