[ih] [IP] EFF calls for signatures from Internet Engineers against censorship

[Craig Partridge]

> I think it's interesting that you labeled them "the copyright industry" rat=
> her than say "the content creation industry".   Part of the problem is that=
>  the industry that has sprung up to manage copyrights now has interests of =
> its own, separate from those of content creators.

I think there are at least 5 parties in the content chain, with disinct
interests:

    1. Content creators (e.g. authors, musicians, composers, script writers,
	actors, directors)
    2. Content distributors (publishers, recording companies, movie studios)
    3. Points of sale (booksellers, movie theaters, concert venues)
    4. Consumers
    5. Copyright enforcement industry

There's also vertical silos -- music behaves differently from books which
behaves differently from movies.

And if you look a bit at the history so far (and this is a history mailing
list), you'll observe that the approach is different by silo and that the
attempts at copyright enforcement create different challenges.

Music has, as best I can tell, given up.  Part of the reason, I believe, is
that content distributors were typically viewed as the enemy by both creators
(musicians) and consumers.  The result is a world in which creators of
music content get modest money through sales in iTunes and similar markets
(and the restrictions on sharing purchased items keep getting closer to
"redistribute however you, the consumer, wish") and make their real money
by doing live performances.

The book community is still evolving.  E-books have recently upended the
marketplace because they make self publishing easy and so put content
distributors on their heels.  Also, authors come in multiple forms -- some
authors publish for credibility but make their money on the speaking
circuit (e.g. business consultants, self help folks) and thus are not
seriously harmed by redistribution of their material.  Other authors,
such as romance novelists, make their money through book sales and have
an interest in protecting their product.  As a result, you seem some
confusion (which may not be fully apparent as the major authors' associations
are dominated by folks who make their money off selling product).

The movie market remains one where there's a high investment in creating
the product and a reliance on sales of product (through theaters and DVD) to
recoup costs.  So they have a deep interest in preventing redistribution.
(I don't claim to understand the TV video market at all, so I won't try to
discuss).

Note that in all these cases, redistribution helps consumers.  In some cases,
it helps content creators.  It always threatens at least some distributors
and points of sale.

Thanks!

Craig