[ExI] intellectual property again

[Damien Broderick]

On Mar 3, 2010, at 10:47 PM, Emlyn wrote:

> I honestly don't see how any extropian or transhumanist who is looking
> at the future with an honest eye can countenance a future like this.
> The copyfight happening now is not a mundane economic squabble, it is
> a political fight for our futures, and one whose importance I think is
> very difficult to overstate. Don't accept it!

So I should abandon any hope or expectation of being recompensed for my 
published writing, because otherwise I'm conniving with the Enemies of 
the Future. Didn't Stalin have similar opinions along these lines?

In fact, I've just about given up any hope of making a living from my 
work; all my stuff is instantly pirated (not that this deprives me of 
much, I suppose), the conglomerate hogs only want to publish shit "by" 
or about celebrities or mashups with ZOMBIES or VAMPIRES at the end of 
the title, etc etc. Damned if I know what the answer is; I'd personally 
be happy if everyone in the world agreed to pay a tiny amount whenever 
they downloaded or borrowed something I created (and I would do the same 
in turn, of course), but that doesn't seem likely. Australia's Public 
Lending Right and Educational Lending Right is a device for paying the 
creators on a sort of rude statistical basis, and could be generalized, 
but of course in that case Evil Gummints are involved. And while it's 
very wicked for governments to steal from honest workers, it's 
apparently virtuous for everyone to steal from me, for example. Because 
we have to prepare for Pie in the Sky By and By.

Damien Broderick