In a message dated 2/21/2000 3:59:33 PM Mountain Standard Time, 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

<< In essence, what you (Russ) are doing is assuming a position of
 intellectual property owenership over something which you are freely
 distributing, and which you are freely distributing in a way that breaks
 the current intellectual property laws. >>

Difference: If you distribute material for free, you can make an argument 
(often not accepted by the courts) for "fair use."  Once someone, like eBay 
auctioneers, make a personal profit off it (ooh, that rhymes), fair-use 
arguments go out the window.  Now, if someone was making offers to 
redistribute Russ's files for free to someone who wouldn't ordinarily get it, 
or offer to burn for cost of CD plus postage, that once again could fall 
under fair use.  But you can't just use the libertarian argument that 
"whatever some idiot will pay for is OK to sell."  So Russ's gripe does 
indeed hold water.

Loring Wirbel
Monument, Colo.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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