[h2o-discuss] Fatbrain

["James H. Johnston" <jimjohn@erols.com>]

    Let me respond to two points Alex Chudnovsky made.
    First, he pointed out: "I can not see how the fact that some work
available at any given moment makes the copyright of some value."  I was

referring to a point Eric Eldred has made to the effect that once a
copyrighted book is out of print, the copyright owner gets no more
royalties.  This is obviously correct.  The copyright owner only gets
paid when his work is published.  He may hold the copyright for the next

75 years, but he won't get any more money unless he can get someone to
republish his book.  Unless you have the talent of an Arthur Miller (the

playwright), you generally get just one crack at publication.  Thus, for

the vast majority of authors the copyright doesn't have much value after

first publication.  Used copies of your book may bounce around for years

and years, but no money rolls into your pocket from that.  Fatbrain
changes the equation.  Assuming you only publish on Fatbrain, then you
get paid every time someone wants to read your book.  The publishing
world would no longer talk in terms of first publication, reprints, and
used books.  Your book is always fresh and your copyright will always
bring in money as long as people want to read your work.
    Second, Alex asks "who is going to pay even $1 for something one can

get (even legally) for free?"
    Take the case of a rare book.  Suppose you have the only copy of the

Dead Sea Scrolls.  You scan it in and make it available on Fatbrain for
$50,000 a copy.  Suppose further that Fatbrain employs a copy protection

scheme so that people can read it online but cannot print it out or make

an electronic copy.  You can't copyright the Dead Sea Scrolls, but you
can make a ton of money by making it available to scholars to review on
Fatbrain.    Of course, this is an extreme example.  The more likely
scenario is that libraries and individuals will make available rare
books or historic documents at a relatively low price.  Suppose a museum

has the only copy of all the orders General Meade issued at the battle
of Gettysburg.  It decides to make the collection available at Fatbrain
for $5.  It chooses to use a copy protection scheme that allows people
to print it out or save it to disk, but prevents it from being copied
electronically.  It seems to me that the museum is going to make some
money from this.  For $5, scholars and Civil War buffs can read Meade's
orders.  The Civil War historian won't have to pay for flights, taxis,
hotels, and meals to research Meade's orders.  He can get them through
Fatbrain for $5.  Of course, the fact that this material isn't
copyrighted means that someone else can pay the $5, print out the
orders, scan them back into a computer, and put them on Fatbrain for $4.

    My point is not that people are going to get rich from putting non
copyrighted material on Fatbrain, but that this may develop as a way to
defray the costs of distributing such material.

Jim Johnston