Some information goods are excludable, but not easily, and less so with fast internet connections. This pushes them towards the category of 'public goods':
Anyway, copyright is a compromise, and I agree that people should respect the law, but the law should also change to fit the facts. The Mickey Mouse copyright extenions, for example, are what might be described in technical terms as "a load of horse shit". 100 years is way too long. I think that we should look at how to rejig the compromise, without eliminating it completely, for the moment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivalry_(economics)
Some information goods are excludable, but not easily, and less so with fast internet connections. This pushes them towards the category of 'public goods':
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_good
Copyright is "legislated exclusion":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_good#Possible_solutions
Anyway, copyright is a compromise, and I agree that people should respect the law, but the law should also change to fit the facts. The Mickey Mouse copyright extenions, for example, are what might be described in technical terms as "a load of horse shit". 100 years is way too long. I think that we should look at how to rejig the compromise, without eliminating it completely, for the moment.