Re: [GD-General] Pro-IP bill passed the house: User-created conte nt providers, beware!

[Crosbie F. <cr...@cy...>]

No need to apologise for being blunt. It's good to get to the point rather
than skirt the issues to avoid hurting people's feelings (this is
gamdevlists, not Facebook).
 
I may be hopelessly unclear, but I am trying to implement mechanisms that
allow artists to be compensated for their labour.
 
However, after the artist has been equitably compensated, their labour can
then be exploited by anyone else - royalty free.
 
If you have difficulty with the idea that it could be possible for someone,
having been equitably compensated, to permit others to use and build upon
their work royalty free, you should check out the world of Free Software,
GPL, GNU/Linux, etc.
 
Incidentally, someone has implemented the Digital Art Auction, i.e.
http://www.propagateltd.com <http://www.propagateltd.com>   so this could
well be the eBay for digital art. Life's too short to worry about being a
pioneer.
 
You say the artist would be better served working on commission for business
companies. All I'm exploring is the same thing, but with the company
disintermediated. So, instead of accepting a commission from one business
company, you accept one from all or any of your audience (which may well
include several business companies that might outbid other members of your
audience). The difference is though, that instead of the company asserting
their copyright over the work, it is neutralised such that anyone who
receives it is free to use it as they wish (a la GPL).
 
 



  _____  

From: Bob [mailto:ma...@mb...] 
Sent: Tuesday, 27 May 2008 4:29pm
To: gam...@li...
Subject: Re: [GD-General] Pro-IP bill passed the house: User-created conte
nt providers, beware!


Sorry to be blunt, but your storefront doesn't solve any problem. Certainly,
you may create the eBay of artwork, centralizing commerce (you would not be
much of a pioneer in that field now), but without copyright protection one
sale is enough to completely devalue the work. The artist would be better
served working on commission for business companies, where they still only
make one sale, but themselves determine (often through bidding) the value of
their work.
 
The problem is not how to charge for a work of art. Nor even how to keep
people from copying a work that is on the internet for private use. It is,
rather, how to avoid having your labour (and I do mean labour, as any 3d
artist can tell you that a decent model represents often hundreds of hours
of eye-straining, wrist-damaging work), exploited for the profit of others
without compensation.