LIS510 lecture 9 Thomas Krichel 2006-11-15. today copyright problems of the economics of information –battle over rights –lock-in open source software.

LIS510 lecture 9

Thomas Krichel

2006-11-15

today

• copyright

• problems of the economics of information– battle over rights– lock-in

• open source software

• library policy problems

Reading

• Rubin chapter 4 until page 153 (also used next week)

• Library of Congress "Copyright Basics", available at http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html

• Shapiro and Varian, “Information Rules” chapters 4, 5 and 6.

movie on copyright

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqySp7Nq5j0

• http://video.google.it/videoplay?docid=3042393408956223205

copyright

• This is the main area of information policy to libraries.

• It is very complex and not sufficiently taught in library school.

• There are large areas that are unclear and not tested through case law, especially in the copyright of digital materials.

• Copyright uncertainty is often an excuse for non action.

origins

• Congress has the power … “to promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts, by securing for Limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries”.

• The first concern copyright, the second patents.

• We will leave patents aside.

things that can not be copyrighted

• Ideas can not be copyrighted. expressions of ideas can be copyrighted.

• Facts can not be copyrighted

• Databases are a grey area. – Feist vs Rural telephone said that the phonebook is not

copyrightable. It does not have the creative element that

– database industry is pressurizing for copyright

• In many instances the copyright holder is not that much important, but the licensing is.

what is copyrightable

• literary works– books, articles, software, web pages and sites

• musical works and their word

• drama, pantomime, choreography

• pictures, graphics, sculpture

• sound recording

• architectural works

how long does copyright last?• For works published before 1978, the term

of copyright was 28 years from – the date of publication for works that were

published– the date of registration of copyright for

unpublished works

• Note that you can still register your copyright with the copyright office.

• The copyright office is run by the Library of Congress.

how long does it last?

• for works created 1978 or after– life of author + 70 years or– for works made for hire or pseudonymous or

anonymous works• 120 years after creation or• 95 years from publication

whatever is shorter.

• a similar rule holds for works that were created but not published before 1978.

publish? • The 1976 Copyright Act defines publication

as follows: "Publication" is the distribution of copies or

phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication.

rights of copyright holders

• main rights are– right to reproduce– right to distribute copies– right to prepare derivative works– right to perform or display the work publicly

• the only important limit are– the concept of fair use (see next page)– and section 108 that deals with libraries. we

can not go into details there.

doctrine of fair use• in the US, it is in section 107: "The fair use

of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."

how to determine fair use• In determining whether the use made of a work

in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include– the purpose and character of the use, including

whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

– the nature of the copyrighted work;– the amount and substantiality of the portion used in

relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and– the effect of the use upon the potential market for

or value of the copyrighted work.

how to claim copyright• as soon as you have created a copyrightable

work, you own copyright over it

• if you made the work for a principal– work prepared by employee as part of

employment– work has been ordered or commissioned as

• contribution to collective work other than a periodical• translation• compilation of other stuff

the principal can claim copyright

right of first sale• Traditionally, if a copy of the copyrighted

work is sold, the buyer of the copy can deal with it essentially as they see fit.

• But the buyer does not acquire copyright.

• However with electronic digital copyrighted work there are problems. Imagine the buyer putting it on the web and let the whole world have free copies!

doctrine of first sale is under pressure

• Copyright holders are worried about the redistribution of their assets.

• One fundamental aspect of information is that it is costly to produce but cheap to reproduce.

• Copyright holders loose money if the first sale copy holder distributes the copy.

Commodification

• Is the process by which the value of information declines to the marginal distribution cost close to zero.

• Here we assume that there is an information provider has some unique information that they and only they control. Here we discuss ways that they can extract value from it.

• Here we talk about personalized products and personalized pricing.

Rights management

• Copyright holders are afraid of the Internet. They think that current law does not deal adequately with digital contents.

• But: every new reproduction means, from printing press to VCR, has brought forth prediction that an industry will be ruined.

Digital technology & publishers

• Digital technology reduces the reproduction cost of information

• Digital technology reduces the distribution cost of information

• Don't confuse the two. Examples– tape recorder– AM broadcast

• Publishers try to make it play to their advantage.

lower distribution costs: samples• Example: Song heard on the radio

advertises a song. Buying the song has option value.

• Example: Barney the dinosaur, distributed freely in day care centers and preschool;

• Example: Disney threatened to sue day care centers where children painted characters on the wall. For them there is no such thing as a ``Mickey Mouse'' law suite.

lower distribution costs: similar contents

• Free samples to sell similar products. Example: Playboy magazine. Playmate of the month given away free ($10,000 charged for banner ad)

• Digitally watermarked images, spider software can help find out where the pictures are held.

• Logos direct customers back to Playboy.

illegal copying

• Amid all the new technology for copying, there is fundamental problem. – Material to be copied has to be advertised.– Transactions can be anonymous, but

advertising can not be.– Advertising will attract law enforcement.

• However the peer-to-peer networks make it hard, in practice, to hunt down violators.

lower reproduction costs: history

• In the middle ages, professors lectured in dark rooms.

• As history passes, with each new means that made reproduction cheaper, the information industry has grown.

• For example: the photocopier has probably increased the total production of printed material.

example: circulating library• In the 18th century, only wealthy people

could buy books. 80,000 regular readers in England at start of 18th century.

• 1741: Pamela, racy tale of a young girl's life.

• Demand for rent increases, circulating libraries “slop shops of literature” are developed by publishers.

• Books shops were worried.

• By 1850, there were 5 Million readers. People buy books.

example: video

• 1980 VCR cost more than $1000, and tape more than $90.

• Video rental store brings video to the masses. First Hollywood objects.

• Later Hollywood sells videos.

• Far from being a death knell, videos were Hollywood's savior.

attaching terms and condition• Fundamental tradeoff between control and

customer value.

• A product that can only be accessed by one person, once, under certain conditions, is less valuable than a product that can repeatedly accessed, shared, rented out.

• As the conditions become more relax, fewer people will buy but it becomes more valuable.

• Example: site license

lock-in

• Lock-in is a very common phenomenon that comes with the usage of information.

• Compare a change from one computer system to another with a change from one car to another.

example: Bell Atlantic• In the 80s, invested $3,000,000,000 in

5ESS switches from AT&T. Useful lifetime of these devices is 15 years.

• Trouble: 5ESS ran on an operating system that was proprietary to AT&T. Each new feature needed AT&T's consent.

• At the introduction of 888 number as toll free, AT&T ask for $3,000,000 for software, for voice dialing $10,000,000 for software.

• In 1995, Bell Atlantic sued AT&T.

small switching costs

• Can also add up to a lot of money when there are large numbers of people involved.

• Many companies are locked into IBM mainframe computers that run software that is specialized to their needs. Many companies rely on

• Computer Associates, who are making big $$$ out of it.

sources of lock-in• Contractual commitments

– Durable equipment purchase• technology lock-in• vendor lock-in

• brand-specific training• hardware and software complementarity• specialized suppliers• search cost• loyalty program

lock in power• Information companies make a large part of

their money from locking people in.• The power they have over the locked in

costumers can be measure by the total switching cost that the costumers face.

• These costs are the cost per costumer times number of costumers.

• The cost per costumer is the cost to the costumer leaving the installed supplier PLUS the cost for a new supplier to take them over.

ways out of lock-in

• In the information industry, one important way out of lock-in is through formal standards and open source software.

• Open standards are those produced by– IETF– W3C

• Example: XML• Open source software is to be discussed

now.

two forms of software

• Software exists in two forms.

• Alternatively, you can think of it as being distributed in two ways.– “binary” code– “source” code

Binary code^?

ELF^A^A^A^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^B^@^C^@^A^@^@^@p<9A>^4^@^@^@X=^G^@^@^@^@^@4^@^@^F^@(^@^_^@^\^@^F^@^@^@4^@^@^@4<80>^4<80>^À^@^@^@À^@^@^@^E^@^@^@^D^@^@^@^C^@^@^@ô^@^@^@ô<80>^ô<80>^^S^@^@^@^S^@^@^@^D^@^@^@^A^@^@^@^A^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@<80>^^@<80>^òÞ^B^@òÞ^B^@^E^@^@^@^@^P^@^@^A^@^@^@øÞ^B^@øn^øn^¨^K^@^@ìÈ^@^@

characteristics of binary code• It will run on a compute with one OS, may

not run on a computer with another.

• It can not be modified.

• It is difficult to find out what it does.

source code

/* For now, don't try to include termcap.h. On some systems, configure finds a non-standard termcap.h that the main build won't find. */

#if defined HAVE_TERMCAP_H && 0

#include <termcap.h>

#else

extern void tputs P_ ((const char *, int, int (*)(int)));

extern int tgetent P_ ((char *, const char *));

characteristics of source code

• This is human (geek) readable code.

• May be understood by humans.

• Can be changed.

• Needs a compiler software to translate it to

translate it to running software.

more on lock-in

• Here are some more examples– phone number portability– email addresses– domain names

• Lock-in is not an exception. It is the rule in the information industry.

A jammed printer• Early 80s, MIT lab get a printer as a shared

resource, but with faulty driver software that leads the printer to be jammed.

• Richard Stallman tries to get the source code to change the driver software, but can not get it.

• Resigns from MIT AI lab to work on a free replacement of UNIX.

• Decides to work for software freedom. Founds Free Software Foundation.

free software• According to Stallman, free software comes with

four freedoms– The freedom to run the program, for any purpose

(freedom 0).– The freedom to study how the program works, and

adapt it to your needs (freedom 1).– The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help

your neighbor (freedom 2).– The freedom to improve the program, and release

your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits. (freedom 3).

free vs open source software

• Free means here free as in freedom and not free as in free beer.

• Access to the source code is a precondition for freedom 1 and 3. For that reason, some people refer to free software as open source software.

software types

• “Freeware” is software that can be used freely, but not modified or distributed.

• “Commercial software” is software written to make a profit from its use. There is such a thing as commercial free software.

• “Shareware”, comes with a permission to share but users have to pay a fee.

software types

• “Semi-free software” comes with permission for individuals to use, copy, distribute, and modify (including distribution of modified versions) for non-profit purposes.

• “Proprietary software”, is not free.

software types

• “Public domain software”, not copyrighted, but modified copies may not be free.

• “Copy-lefted free software”, comes with the permission to use and modify, but prohibits adding further restrictions to the distribution.

• “Non-copylefted free software”, comes with the permission to use, modify and add restrictions of distribution.

proprietary vs free software

• free software usually is– less GUI in orientation– more difficult to learn– more configurable– more secure– more stable

• than commercial software

important free software • GNU

• Linux and FreeBSD

• compilers: gcc

• scripting langages: perl, python PHP

• apache, mozilla, mySQL, putty etc

• firefox

• and now: java

Library community vs free software movement

• There is a geek culture of sharing structured information.

• There is currently no direct equivalent in the library world. The library world is still dominated by organizations that sell data or costly intermediation.

http://openlib.org/home/krichel

Thank you for your attention!