RE: More ethics...

[KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com]

Maggie,

That's pretty unlikely. But without even charging 
you, I'll supply a better analogy that is more 
real-world realistic.  Replace the plumber with 
the gardener.

Now, charge people to enjoy the lovely garden 
for an hour or two. Some of 'em will even take 
(gasp!) photographs away with them. Worse, SOME 
of them may sell those photographs to magazines.

If the gardener wishes to capitalize 
on that little opportunity, he can damn well 
buy his own land and make another garden. 
And if I own the original garden, I have no 
claim in the slightest against the gardener 
if he duplicates mine down to the last flower 
petal.

The plumber, meanwhile, can make and re-use 
a copy of the work he did for me, and even 
use it as a teaching aid in his new school 
for plumbers. "This is how I solve this 
nifty little plumbing challenge..."

Again, there's no reason to suppose that it 
takes any less creativity, drive, ingenuity 
for, say, a machinist to make a particularly 
ingenious and useful tool or jig or fitting 
or... than it takes for a painter to paint 
a portrait.

In one case, if the machinist does especially 
smooth, precise, elegant work, his skills will 
be in demand and he'll get jobs that perhaps 
are more challenging and that pay more than 
other machinists get. In the other case, if the 
painter does a particularly good job of capturing 
likenesses (or of making them flattering...), 
his skills will be in demand and he'll get 
commissions that perhaps are more challenging 
and that pay more than other painters are getting.

If I take a new and finely machined part and put 
it into one of those 3-D scanning and milling 
machines, and the machine starts to spit out 
copy after copy, I don't have to pay residuals 
to the guy who machined the archetype object.
If I get a portrait done of my lovely wife 
and run that through a high-res scanner, it 
seems I'm supposed to pay the portrait painter 
each time I sell a copy, unless I have a piece 
of paper entitling me to reproduction rights 
for the image.

The difference is...?

/kevin

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Maggie Secara [mailto:MSecara -at- NILS -dot- COM]

>>What's the difference?  The writer or arteeste 
>>finishes a job, gets paid for it, and then 
>>expects the money to keep rolling in. But they 
>>don't think they have to do another spot of WORK 
>>for that next paycheque, and the one after and 
>>the one after that.

>>Why should the plumber or carpenter or mechanic 
>>want to extend a privilege to you that is not 
>>reciprocated?  What do they gain? Where's the 
>>utility for them?  

>I suspect that if the plummer did a fine job and left your 
>house, then found
>out you were charging your neighbors $7.50 a head to come in 
>and view his
>handiwork, he'd wonder if he couldn't get a piece of the action.  

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