<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.5730.13" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>In the aftermath of last
weeks Pirate Bay decision, I read a lot of articles about "illegal DOWNloading",
even in the "quality newspaper" I am subscribed to. I thino of writing them a
letter. What are the right arguments?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>* downloading is not
illegal in most European countries</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>* the true victims are the
record companies who have lost their reason for existence since the advent of
(broadband) internet, and they are not prepared to gove up, even though tey
deliver a (distribution) service that no onle needs (like currecy exchange
offices in the Euro-era)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>* making records (and
books) nowadays is very cheap - artists can do it themsevles, besides, they
usually get unfavorable contracts from mighty record companies</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>* file sharing is so
pervasive that enforcement risks credibility, unless it is so tough that it
violates human rights principles</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>* credibility is further
jeopardised by the general perception that record companies are overly
greedy</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>+ plus by the
couter-intuitive system of copyright that requires me to pay even if I copy my
own old-fashioned legally obtained CDs</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>* levy system already
compensate for private copies (whether you like levy systems is something
else)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>* most legislation is EU
legislation, and the EU commission has already shown to be very susceptible to
corporate lobbyists, and to ignore academic advice completely.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff
size=2>reinier</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>