[DUC] DISCUSSION: Interesting Intellectual Property Debate

["David P. Dillard" <jwne@astro.ocis.temple.edu>]

	There is a very interesting debate in the most recent issue of
First Monday.  Albert Henderson has posted comments on various discussion
groups that advocate very stong intellectual property protection in
general and copyright in particular and his posts are very favorable to
and supportive of the publishing industry.  Among other places, he has
posted extensively to the CNI-Copyright and the E-Book lists.  In this
isssue of First Monday, there is a response to his position from Richard
J. Cox.  Below are excerpts from and links to the Henderson article and
the Cox response which I hope members of this discussion group will find
interesting.  At issue here are concerns regarding historical preservation
against the rights of publisher's to prevent reproduction of their works.

The March 2001 issue of First Monday (volume 6, number 3)
is now available at
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_3/

"The Big Lie" and the Great Newspaper Caper
by Albert Henderson
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_3/henderson/

Recently, in First Monday Richard Cox challenged Nicholson Baker's attacks
on libraries. While he provided reasonable and sophisticated
counter-arguments, he also opened the door for a sharp rebuttal. He wrote,
"If American libraries and other repositories have been engaged in
fabricating a lie, it is truly one of immense proportions (and certainly
Nicholson Baker believes this is the case)."

Yes, the fabrication is not only large but profound in its effects. "The
Big Lie" goes deeper than debates over newspapers and card catalogs. Yet,
anyone familiar with the literature of scholarly communications can
readily substantiate it for themselves from sources I can cite.

A Response to Mr. Henderson
by Richard J. Cox
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_3/cox/

I have read carefully Mr. Henderson's response to my essay about the
controversy generated by Nicholson Baker concerning the destruction of
original newspapers and their replacement by microfilm. The focus of my
essay was on the newspaper situation, while the focus of Mr. Henderson is
on some greater conspiracy (in his view) regarding the economics of
academic libraries and, given the substance of the debate about
microfilming newspapers, I see only a minor relationship between the two.
My point was simple, that microfilming newspapers is not part of any
abdication of responsibilities to preserve our documentary heritage, but
it is rather an effort to do the opposite by preserving content and
enhancing access to that content in a way that maintaining original
newspapers could never accomplish. Obviously, Mr. Henderson has used this
as an opportunity for a harangue about academic libraries and his
perception of their mistreatment of commercial publishers.

---------------------------

If the smoke smells good, have a look at the fire in First Monday.


Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne@astro.temple.edu


Check My Articles on Database Searching
http://www.Edu-CyberPG.com/
Click on Ringleaders and Then Reference
Diversity University Collaboratory Mailing List (DUC)
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/diversity.html

New York Times, USA Today, MSNBC Hot Site Pick Awards
The Educational CyberPlayGround <http://www.edu-cyberpg.com>
Diversity University Collaboratory Mailing List ISSN:1529-7861
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/diversity.html>