Jon’s Network

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p> Thomas Claburn wrote about the Digg rebellion that snubbed copyright law by refusing to censor posts that publicize the processing key to unlock the DRM on HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs. The article is infused with quotes by Gregory Rutchik, which are great, but one of them perpetuates a false idea and I wanted to point you to some research that explains why. Rutchik said,

<blockquote>This is a capitalist economy, and copyright owners are entitled to put up fences. They remind people that the yard of another can only be entered with permission. And boundaries in a capitalist society are necessary to incentivize creators.</blockquote>

<p>First of all, yards are physical and scarce, and we are talking about digital media that isn't scarce. Yes, this is a capitalist economy, and copyright owners can put up fences (<a href="http://jonsnetwork.com/2007/05/how-to-do-business-this-century/" title="How to Do Business This Century">it's in their best interest not to</a>), but these boundaries, or DRM and copyrights, aren't necessary to incentivize creators.  This has been researched and proven by some smart people, Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine.  You can read the arguments in a free ebook, <a href="http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/general/intellectual/againstnew.htm" title="Against Intellectual Monopoly">Against Intellectual Monopoly</a>.