Dear Editor:
Congratulations on your release of the Wired CD!
Rather than accept piracy as an inevitable cost of 21st century content business, or justify illegal copying as retaliation against industry “greed,” the Wired CD’s Creative Commons License is a constructive solution to the problem of illegal file sharing while acknowledging that creative work does influence other artists.
The framework for the Wired CD begins by asserting the basic property rights of the artist or owner of the work–not by trying to create convoluted, malleable definitions that seek to place intellectual property in a realm apart from tangible products. From this starting point, you’ve created a framework for voluntary multilateral agreements for artists and copyright holders that state specific ways others can freely use, adapt or modify their work.
It proves that while technology changes, principles of ownership hold. Here’s hoping for those tracks from Jay Z and Moby on Wired CD 2.0!
Steven Titch
Chicago, Illinois
Steven Titch ([email protected]) is a senior fellow with The Heartland Institute and managing editor of its monthly publication, Info Tech & Telecom News.
Steven Titch is a policy analyst focusing on telecommunications, Internet and information technology. He is also a policy advisor to The Heartland Institute.
