RE: A thought about H.R. 2281

[David Davis <ddavis@copyright.com>]

A fascinating thread! I'm not an economist- and I don't play one on the
'net! ;-) 

Laurel Jamtgaard writes, 

>If you are facing a market with high-concentration (few providers) I think
>you are more likely to see higher prices and per-use fees.  

Even in strictly economic terms (and I think there are other factors at
work in published communication), there are other ways of gaining
remuneration besides cash. For one, the reality behind 'publish or
perish' implies that job security for some authors is linked to
(possibly unpaid) publication. There are also the more intangible
factors such as reputation and 'scholarly communication' (involving such
questions as : Who's reading my stuff?; Who's citing my stuff?; Who's
arguing with my stuff?)

In a future situation where the author/creator/aggregator can
require/impose payment for each access, the same party could waive that
option, or set the rate at $0.000, could simply collect the number
'reads' or skip the whole business. 

Cheers. 

>Dave Davis
>CCC Project Manager   http://www.copyright.com/
>ddavis@copyright.com       Voice: (978) 750-4283 x-2217

PS: Anyone else going to ALA? I'll be there Saturday and Sunday.