RE: More ethics... (long, of course)

Subject: RE: More ethics... (long, of course)
From: "Douglas S. Bailey (AL)" <dbailey -at- commandalkon -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 14:59:30 -0500

> Once again. For documents that describe
> the use and abuse of a *product*, copyright is
> IRRELEVANT. The fact that some law says our
> customers must not give away copies of my fabulous
> user manuals is irrelevant, because unless the
> people they GIVE them to also have our encryption
> token devices, our encryption accelerator systems,
> etc., the documents are just paper with ink on 'em.

Are you a devotee of situational ethics, Kevin? It sounds like you believe
that it's OK to break laws if the situations they are applied to are
insignificant.

Let me point out that it's still illegal to ignore a red light at an traffic
intersection even if no cars are within range.

Laws are not made irrelevant merely because people subject to them deem them
to be outdated, obsolete, or indeed, irrelevant. Your documents may indeed
be only ink on paper in the wrong hands, but they will always be the
intellectual property of their owners, and as such they warrant as much of
the law's protection as your toaster does, or any other item of property
that you care to name.

It may be true that an item can be stolen without causing harm or damage to
the owner, but lack of harm or damage doesn't render the act not a crime.

--Doug



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References:
FW: More ethics... (long, of course): From: KMcLauchlan

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