Huh? What right does a museum have to display that painting?
No reasonable person questions that the laws get things wrong or create opportunities for market abusers. But hopefully, most reasonable people don't believe that the antidote for those problems is vigilantism.
Property and knowledge are two very different things. Can knowledge have an "owner"?
Without vigilantism, what solution would you propose to market abusers? Wait for someone in power to enforce the antitrust law?
When time or resources for enforcement are short, vigilantism can be a net positive for society.
"What right do I have to restrict your access to knowledge?"
17 USC? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_17_of_the_United_States_C...
It's not a natural right, but that statement makes it sound like you're against copyright. If that is the case, I don't think many people agree with you.
Re:Aaron Swartz Legal Defense Fund
by GeoffWozniak on Sunday September 16, 2012 @02:47PM
(#4529932)
> What if someone went around the entire country and put every book into a huge safe.
Assuming "every book" includes books I own, then that constitutes theft.
What right do I have to restrict your access to knowledge?
What if someone went around the entire country and put every book into a huge safe. Then locked the safe shut and let anyone enter the safe for $25 a pop. Would you be okay with this? Would you cite the law and accept your fate?
Yes, this is a country governed by laws, and we're all grateful. But those laws can and are at times abused to create monopolistic practices, like restricting access to research.
Ask yourself, just what value does JSTOR add that's worth $25 per article in the modern day of digital distribution?