Re: archiving on inet

[Joe Thomas <jthomas@access.digex.net>]

On Tue, 1 Feb 1994, Jason Zions wrote:

> > So answer the question again, what is the 
> >difference in paying an internet provider for access to usenet, and 
> >paying a cd-rom provider for access to usenet?
> . . .
> Better yet, it's the difference between watching a program on HBO when you
> are getting that service legally (i.e. paying for it) and buying a tape of
> the same program from a friend who has HBO. Whether or not you also have
> legal access to HBO, the sale of the tape infringes on the copyright of the
> program.

Several variations on this analogy have been posted, but I still don't see
how it applies to Usenet.

If HBO allowed anyone who could receive its signal to pass it along to
anyone else, without a prior license agreement, I would say it would have
little grounds for trying to prevent the sale of programs taped off HBO.

But to attempt to bring this back from misc.legal to cypherpunks territory...
Have people here thought about what happens to the concept of intellectual
property in an environment of strong cryptography and cheap anonymity? 
When there's no way for the government to enforce Berne on movies and
electronic books, what hope is there for Usenet postings?

Joe