On Wed, 10 Jan 2001, Declan McCullagh wrote:
[Jim sent me the below message directly without any indication that it was also sent to the list. But from past experience, I know better. Another example of not-quite-adequate Choatian social norms.]
Anyway, Jim is conflating physical control over an instantiation of IP with the rights conferred by IP law. If someone copies Microsoft Word (or a Tom Clancy novel) onto a CDROM and gives it to me, I am not liable.
You are if you take it knowingly (can you take something unknowingly?) and especially if with the intent to defraud the copyright holder of their rights. In the case of the Tom Clancy novel, there's usually a clause about no electronic storage so if you had such a novel then yes possession would in fact be a crime. I would have thought the .mp3 controversy would have made this point clear. ____________________________________________________________________ Before a larger group can see the virtue of an idea, a smaller group must first understand it. "Stranger Suns" George Zebrowski The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------