I’m fairly conversant with software IP law (not that I like it, but I understand the criteria for and protections against copyright and patent claims). I can’t tell if you’re saying fiction copyright enforcement should be more like software, or that it IS ALREADY fairly similar to software. Some case citations would help to disambiguate this.
Either way, the on-the-ground reality for software is that nobody cares about the little guy—only big corporations and the lawyers who prey on them actually matter. This sucks (sometimes; it’s a boon to consumers who get more/cheaper stuff), but it’s a bigger problem than implied by the article.
It would be interesting to compare plagiarism and copyright enforcement in the written fiction world against the music world. Having standardized commercial licensing mechanisms for remixes (sampling, covers, mashups, etc.) would seem to go a long way BOTH toward reimbursing the authors of unique and re-usable things, AND toward more variety for readers.
I’m fairly conversant with software IP law (not that I like it, but I understand the criteria for and protections against copyright and patent claims). I can’t tell if you’re saying fiction copyright enforcement should be more like software, or that it IS ALREADY fairly similar to software. Some case citations would help to disambiguate this.
Either way, the on-the-ground reality for software is that nobody cares about the little guy—only big corporations and the lawyers who prey on them actually matter. This sucks (sometimes; it’s a boon to consumers who get more/cheaper stuff), but it’s a bigger problem than implied by the article.
It would be interesting to compare plagiarism and copyright enforcement in the written fiction world against the music world. Having standardized commercial licensing mechanisms for remixes (sampling, covers, mashups, etc.) would seem to go a long way BOTH toward reimbursing the authors of unique and re-usable things, AND toward more variety for readers.