Submission + - File Sharing and the Free Public Library 3
Hodejo1 writes: Do you know what the single greatest source of free content is? Why your local library where you can not only indulge in all the books, films, music, magazines and video games you wish for free, it is all legal under fair use laws. MP3 Newswire writes "If a grass-roots constituency decides to build a local library all they need to do is raise money, acquire a collection of donated and purchased material and organize it all within a structure that can effectively distribute its content to the populace. The founders do not need to get special government permission or sign a licensing arrangement with content creators. They just need to build it — in the physical world. And that brings us to the online world. If a physical community is allowed to freely build a library that is protected by convention, why should an online community be treated any different?" The BicyclePirate adds "I can go to the library, check out a book, read it, return it, and never have to pay a penny. I can do the same with a compact disc, a vinyl record or cassette (for those libraries that still have them), or a DVD or VHS. Nothing stops a person from copying any of these works, yet a campaign to shut down libraries to protect copyright laws would be unthinkable as many have come to depend on library access or consider it a right." Both commentaries throw out the idea that user activities on the file sharing networks, YouTube and other "havens of piracy" may be nothing more than an unconscious replication of the free public library online. Does that mean we should extend fair use to cover them? Of course, there are plenty of differences between the online and offline worlds so if you think this is a stretch you are not alone. The analogy is still interesting, mostly because libraries have proved over the centuries that offering free and open access to content does not destroy that content's viability in the marketplace. But then again we have never had a distribution mechanism as efficient as the Internet before.