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To: Road Walker who wrote (19463)	3/6/2001 7:26:10 PM
From: Starlight	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 60323

John - >>>>> . . . and the software resides on PC's, it can spread very quickly. And once it's on PC's, there will be no central authority to shut down, no way to stop the "sharing" of digital files of any type. <<<<<< Why couldn't they go after the creator of the software? It seems that would put a stop to distribution of that sort of program. Betty

To: Road Walker who wrote (19463)	3/7/2001 8:35:19 AM
From: Art Bechhoefer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 60323

John, there are several solutions to the problem of unenforceable copyright protection. One solution is that the really good artists won't make any recordings. Or the recording companies won't issue new recordings because they know they'll never get a reasonable return on their investment. The copying of audio and video tapes, using the old analog technology, almost always produces a copy somewhat degraded from the original. Casual copying for friends results in an imperfect copy of the original and may actually enhance the market for originals by creating enthusiasm and interest in more potential customers. The new technology, however, presents a problem in that the copy may be virtually indistinguishable from the original, thereby giving someone an incentive to sell copies that are as good as the original. People who think Napster is a great idea, and that there is nothing wrong with sharing copyrighted material are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. While I agree that there is a more serious problem arising from copying without need of a host computer, perhaps the answer is to make legal copying convenient enough and cheap enough to discourage all the time and energy spent trying to circumvent the copyrights. My original comments on Napster related to the impact of the SDMC as an alternative to illegal copying. I still believe SDMC is a pretty good, not a perfect solution, and one which may attract enough users such that the interests of the recording industry will be satisfied, as well as interests of SanDisk shareholders through the sale of SDMC. Art