Do we need copyright? (2012)
I don&#x27;t see how you can possibly say that the exclusive right to sell a work doesn&#x27;t have monetary value, AKA benefit for whoever holds it.<p>I give my stuff away for free online, but I don&#x27;t want O&#x27;Reilly or whomever selling it for money. (I sell print copies for money.) I have no mechanism to stop that other than copyright law.<p>I do think the copyright term should be a maximum of 20 years from the publishing date, though (which would put some earlier versions of my works into the public domain).<p>About the only useful thing copyright does anymore is protect the little guy, contrary to this argument. I am one of those little guys!<p>I can&#x27;t tell if the author has written any books, but I&#x27;d be happy to put them up for sale on Amazon if he does, assuming he has no problem with me pocketing the proceeds.