"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
.. .
Jon Elson writes:

If they actually ARE holding a bunch of
copyrighted material in their newsgroup archives, then they do
have a liability.

Define "holding". The DMCA specifically allows it. Usenet continues.
Napster was instantly destroyed. All based on the illusion of
"communication" versus "storage".

Ultimately, the government is not going to enforce the Mafiaa's right to
control invisible magnetization patterns secreted in your computer, any
more than they did the invisible magnetization patterns on VHS tapes
secreted on your 1980s bookshelf. Or photon bundles in fibers or
electrons in cables. It will just be painful to expire the litigious
ownership of antique media, but expire it must.

Copyright only works in tangible, expensive media trafficked in public.
Intangibles and private actions can't be controlled. That's why there's
no copyright enforcement of your memorizing copyrighted works, or the
images inside your eyeballs. RIAA has no means and no right to control
how the air vibrates inside a private home. Or the MPAA how the LCD
pixels flip.

De minimis non curat lex

The law does not concern itself with trifles.

Bit patterns are the *ultimate* trifle. Absolutely arbitrary
arrangements of the intangible, in limitless quantity. We all can own
terabytes of them. Inconceivable that the government will assert
sovereignty there.


Really? The government does what interests lobbying it want. It's pay to
play. The recording industry pays a lot so they have a lot of influence.
When it comes to money, and that is what this is all about, the side with
the ability to influence government, and that means the laws, will come out
the winner. Arrangements of intangibles aside, the government can do
whatever it wants. If it decides that some intangibles are property then
those who have the "rights" to that property will prevail in court. History
shows this to be true. How many times does David triumph over Goliath in US
courts? We know it's rare. Goliath usually comes out on top and in this case
the RIAA is Goliath. Figure that out.

Hawke