Theos-Talk Archives (May 1998 Message tl00012)

K. Zaitzev wrote:
> B> people from what used to be the Soviet Union, and many immigrants from
> B> that area, do not have an understanding of copyright issues.
> 
>  Maybe I don't fully understand the details but in general I know
> what copyright is.

	However, what I was talking about was the details. For example, when
working with ex-Soviets using pirated software, they would tell me that
it didn't hurt anybody because they would not have bought the software,
and they were checking it for viruses. In other words, they felt that
because the karma wasn't instantly returned, none was created. Note that
in order to get out of the Soviet Union in the first place, they had to
circumvent a lot of unfair and illogical laws, so they just considered
these to be more of the same. 

	Regardless of who owns the copyright, Paul made a deal with a publisher
to publish his book. The publisher assumed a financial risk in order to
do so. Even if the publisher were not interested in making a profit,
they would still need to make enough money from the successful books to
pay for the unsuccessful ones. By publishing his book on the Web, or
though any other means, Paul would be at the very least breaking his
word to the publisher, which would cause the publisher to be more
careful in choosing clients, which would keep potential authors from
being able to publish their books. I assume that your unfamiliarity with
the details of copyright law would keep you from realizing this kind of
effect could happen.

	Bart Lidofsky