The Case for File Swapping
There's a lot of fuss about how bad Internet file swapping (i.e: the sharing and downloading of copyrighted work) is and the fact that many people who download illegal files from the Internet think they are doing something wrong. However, few people have stopped to ask some important questions: should it be illegal? Can it be stopped? Is fighting it worth it?
The purpose of this essay is to explain why file swapping is not an illegitimate action and should in fact be legal.
Formats (Third edition)
- HTML Format. (read online)
- Acrobat Reader (PDF) Format.
- Original DocBook/XML.
- CSS Stylesheet, XSLT Driver for the DocBook XSL stylesheets.
Previous Editions
Second Edition
- HTML Format. (read online)
- Acrobat Reader (PDF) Format.
- Original DocBook/XML.
- CSS Stylesheet, XSLT Driver for the DocBook XSL stylesheets.
First Edition
- HTML Format. (read online)
- Acrobat Reader (PDF) Format.
- Original DocBook/XML.
- CSS Stylesheet, XSLT Driver for the DocBook XSL stylesheets.
Translations
- Hebrew (Ongoing translation on a Wiki).
Coverage and Comments
- Entry in my weblog about it - one can comment using the LiveJournal commenting system.
- An E-mail I sent to a writers mailing list after one of its members passed a critique of the theme.
- Coverage in linmagazine.co.il in Hebrew.
- Discussion in the "Joel on Software" forum
- Discussion on the London Perl Mongers mailing list
More (Newer) Links
- Only 2 in 500 college students believe that downloading a copyrighted work from the Internet is wrong.
- RIAA Now Suing People who Rip CDs
- Investors, "Beware" of Record Companies
- RIAA's 'Misspeaking' May Have Affected Verdict
- Pirate Yourself - Become a Best-Seller - the story of Paulo Coelho's success.
- The Semantics of File Sharing
- UK ISPs to Face Piracy Deadline
- "Why Intellectual Property Does Not Exist, Part 3502" - if someone sells you a copyrighted work, why can't you do anything you want with it, including giving it away?
- "If Intellectual Property is Property, Where is the Property Tax?"
- "University of San Fransisco Law Clinic Joins Fight Against RIAA"
