permaculture

[Dick Pierce <dickpiercedesigns@gmail.com>]

I'd offer the following comments and thoughts on the IP discussion around
the PC Designer's Manual.

I dearly wish that there was a literature group of the world PC Community
that was pondering and proposing a PC, or at least a PDC, literature
strategy and plan - that would include, but update and expand, the
Permaculture Designer's Manual. It badly needs replacing or a new edition,
in my opinion. This effort would logically include some new authors/owners,
some new terms, prices, distribution, copyrights, and arrangements with
authors of existing works that were used. I also wonder if anyone has
approached the Mollison interested-parties with a query or proposal for an
arrangement or permission for alternate distribution of any/all of their
works, or a request for them to formally terminate the copyright. My
thoughts follow:
- do not take anything that belongs to another without specific permission
- always ask before taking/borrowing something belonging to someone else
- other people's toys are other people's toys

- borrow a copy - from the library (ask them to get it for you on inter-lib.
loan)
- borrow a copy from a friend (I loaned mine to R. Sass a year ago & got it
back)

- copyright law allows a reader/copy owner/user to:
    - make copies of important excerpts for your own use
    - make copies of excerpts as handouts for an educational class
    - copyright law is quite liberal on the # of pages, silent on the # of
copies

- buy a copy for your your local Permaculture group
- start a lending library - ask all to donate extra copies, earlier editions
of all titles

- write your own, post it, give it away

- re-direct individual and collective energies to a PC project for a new,
updated version
  with careful attention to all climate zones, re-verifying
points/statements with latest
  scientific data/consensus (the "Old Testament" comment really resonated
with me).
- publish as a new title; use authoring tools that facillitate translation
and updates. New
  authors/owners decide on fee/free, pricing, media, and royalties due to
referenced works,
  if any, hopefully, with agreement of author of referenced work(s).

- these are intellectual properties - they have owners - owners decide on
prices and terms.
  buyers/users should respect those terms or make alternate arrangements.

Dick Pierce

-- 
DickPierceDesigns@gmail.com
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