License that allows private copying?

Scott Johnston johnston at vectaport.com
Thu Mar 25 13:31:16 EST 2004


Greg London said:
> Scott Johnston said:
> > I have a peer-to-peer content development tool that I want to sell 
> over
> > the internet.
>
> Then use a CC-FreeAdvertising license, like CC-NonCommercial-NoDerivs,
> and be done with it. If you want to sell something, having a
> LimitedQuantityDistribution license is a waste of time.
>
>

Using a license like CC-NonCommercial-NoDerivs would allow someone to 
defeat my efforts to make some money by simply posting a copy they 
acquired on the net.

I admit it is not easy to draw a distinction between private and public 
copying/distribution (with the Internet these two acts are intertwined, 
unlike conventional publishing).  You can get into games where people 
make a public announcement of their "private" club where private 
materials can be had.  But there are similar games with a 
Commercial/NonCommercial distinction, yet CreativeCommons forged ahead.

I can imagine other users of a CC license with a Private clause.  An 
independent band might want a revenue stream from micropayments for 
songs sold over the net, and at the same time want dedicated fans to be 
able to e-mail the songs to their friends, to build up their fan base.

I understand that very few people are worried about allowing or 
disallowing private copying.  But there is a difference between 
personal copying and private copying (like the difference between a 
personal note and a private correspondence), and to be able to make a 
distinction in licensing would be in some parties interest.  In the 
spirit of CreativeCommons, why not let me decide what I prefer, and 
what I think is a waste of time.

Scott Johnston

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