Adam Shostack wrote:

There is an entire parasitic class that does nothing useful, but makes money from the idea of copyright. (Most entertainment industries operate like this. The industry puts up seed money in exchange for the profits that an artist generates.) Books, music, film to a lesser extent are all in the path of a digital revolution which eliminates the need for a middleman. If I can download music to DAT, I don't need Sony records. Neither does Peter Gabriel, Robert Fripp or any other musician.

The above is a key insight into what I see as one of the biggest issues of the next couple of decades, certainly one of the biggest issues affecting the networks. A battle is looming between public freedoms on the nets, and powerful copyright-based economic interests. Such a battle is very apt to turn the networks into a minefield of impossible laws, ubiquitous surveillance and unending litigation. Note that the Clinton/Gore administration, and its Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF), have already taken the (in my opinion extreme and unrealistic) position that intellectual property laws must be not merely preserved but *strengthened* and *expanded* in the context of the National Information Infrastructure. (See the report of the IITF's Intellectual Property Working Group, as well as other relevant reports available at iitf.doc.gov.) And I see no reason to hope that Congress will take a different approach. Such a battle could have far-reaching implications. Taken to its logical conclusions, a "War on Piracy" could make the "War on Drugs" look benign (and inexpensive) by comparison. Averting this disaster may be one of the most important challenges facing the cypherpunks. Just my two cents' worth. --- mkj