Dear Josef,<br><br>I already preposted your article via <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/an-open-letter-to-a-pro-copyright-author/2011/02/02">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/an-open-letter-to-a-pro-copyright-author/2011/02/02</a><br>
<br>but perhaps you can add an extra commentary reflecting your experiences in the last few days,<br><br>here's what I have:<br><br><br><div class="navigation">
<div class="alignleft">« <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/from-lockean-to-common-property-reviving-the-swedish-meidner-plan/2011/01/29" rel="prev">From Lockean to common property: reviving the Swedish
Meidner plan</a></div>
</div>
<p class="postTitle"><a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/an-open-letter-to-a-pro-copyright-author/2011/02/02" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to An open letter to a
pro-copyright author">An open letter to a pro-copyright author</a></p>
<img src="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/wp-content/uploads/avatars/Michel%20Bauwens.jpg" alt="photo of Michel Bauwens" align="left"><div id="postauthorname">Michel
Bauwens</div>
<div id="postdate">2nd February 2011</div>
<br>
<p><a href="http://uniteddiversity.com/email-to-toby-hemenway-re-piracy/">From</a>
Josef Davies-Coates of United Diversity, who received a threatening
letter regarding a book that was posted online. The original article
also lists a number of interesting comments.</p>
<p>The gist of the response made by Josef:</p>
<p>- it is impossible to remove digital copies from the internet, hence
it is a waste of energy to threaten legal action against those that you
randomly identify</p>
<p>- more awareness of the book generates more sales not less, hence it
is self-defeating even in terms of generating income for the authors</p>
<p>I would add another extra argument. For such crucial information as
permaculture, it may be unethical to restrict the flow of information to
only those that can afford it.</p>
<p><strong>Josef Davies-Coates:</strong></p>
<p><em>“Toby Hemenway, a leading permaculture author sent me a message
with very very thinly veiled threat to sue me for including his great
book Gaia’s Garden here <a href="http://files.uniteddiversity.com/Permaculture/">http://files.uniteddiversity.com/Permaculture/</a>
(someone else has also put it up on Scribd)</em></p>
<p><em>Here is the text of his message:</em></p>
<blockquote><p><em> at <a href="http://files.uniteddiversity.com/Permaculture/">http://files.uniteddiversity.com/Permaculture/</a>
you have a pirated copy of my book, Gaia’s Garden. My publisher, Chelsea
Green, has prosecuted pirates often. You also have copies of Paul
Stamet’s books, and Paul has been known to sue the shit out of pirates.
You also have Fukuoka’s books, which my friend Larry Korn took years to
translate. Larry, a pioneer organic farmer, badly needs the money from
sales. Why would you steal from your colleagues and teachers like this?
It makes it very hard to write again if we aren’t supported. You might
want to take those books down. Free is not sustainable.</em></p></blockquote>
<p><em>And here is my response:</em></p>
<p><em> Hi Toby,</em></p>
<p><em> Thanks for getting in touch. <img src="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="wp-smiley"> </em></p>
<p><em> Please forgive me in advance for this lengthly email, but
this is a topic that is of great import to me (and I’m supposed to be
doing my tax return! <img src="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif" alt=";)" class="wp-smiley"> )</em></p>
<p><em> Firstly, let me share with you that I’m currently in the
process of designing my first Forest Garden and I was just last night
reading the 2nd edition of your great book (of which I own a hard copy).
Thanks for all your great work!</em></p>
<p><em> I must say, however, that it saddens me greatly that people
as enlightened as yourself have not yet realised how backward and
pointless trying to enforce copyright is, nor accepted the fact that
digital content that exists can be, and usually is, copied many many
times.</em></p>
<p><em> It is time for many more authors and publishers (especially
the good ones!) to acknowledge that the current, rather dated,
publishing model is no longer sustainable in the digital networked age
we find ourselves in.</em></p>
<p><em> The commons-based peer production of free software and
content is in fact much more so; Linux dominates the server market and
more and more enlightened people use it on their desktops too. Firefox
is now the most popular web browser in Europe. Wikipedia, whose software
and content has always been free to share, is consistently in the top
10 visited websites on the planet.</em></p>
<p><em> Perhaps even more excitingly, the Open Source 3D Printer,
RepRap, cost 60 times less than commercial competition and Open Source
Ecology are designing, building and sharing a whole Global Village
Construction Set, (think PermaFacture of just about everything <img src="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="wp-smiley"> ) <a href="http://openfarmtech.org">http://openfarmtech.org</a></em></p>
<p><em> The electronic copy of your book (and all the other important
and timely information nicely organised into folders on
<a href="http://files.uniteddiversity.com">http://files.uniteddiversity.com</a> ) is out in the wild already, and was
so before I got my hands on it (that is how I got my hands on it). There
is absolutely nothing anyone can do about that, however many lawyers
and court cases are involved. This is a fact that publishers and authors
stuck in an old mindset and dependent on old business models ignore at
their peril.</em></p>
<p><em> For some context, I’d really love it if you could please take
30mins to listen to this great presentation that Lawrence Lessig of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation gave back in 2002:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://randomfoo.net/oscon/2002/lessig/free.html">http://randomfoo.net/oscon/2002/lessig/free.html</a></em></p>
<p><em> He sums it up at the beginning with a short refrain:</em></p>
<p><em> 1. Creativity and innovation always builds on the past.<br>
2. The past always tries to control the creativity that builds
upon it.<br>
3. Free societies enable the future by limiting this power of
the past.<br>
4. Ours is less and less a free society.</em></p>
<p><em> Perhaps also read these articles by Sci-Fi author Cory
Doctorow…</em></p>
<p><em> Why free ebooks should be part of the plot for writers:</em></p>
<p><em> “My problem isn’t piracy, it’s obscurity, and free ebooks
generate more sales than they displace.”</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/aug/18/free-ebooks-cory-doctorow">http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/aug/18/free-ebooks-cory-doctorow</a></em></p>
<p><em> The real cost of free:</em></p>
<p><em> “The topic I leave my family and my desk to talk to
people all over the world about is the risks to freedom arising from the
failure of copyright giants to adapt to a world where it’s impossible
to prevent copying. Because it is impossible.“</em></p>
<p><em> if I give away my ebooks under a Creative Commons licence
that allows<br>
non-commercial sharing, I’ll attract readers who buy hard
copies. It’s<br>
worked for me – I’ve had books on the New York Times bestseller
list for<br>
the past two years.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/oct/05/free-online-content-cory-doctorow">http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/oct/05/free-online-content-cory-doctorow</a></em></p>
<p><em> Free data sharing is here to stay</em></p>
<p><em> I sell my printed books by giving away electronic books</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/sep/18/informationeconomy">http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/sep/18/informationeconomy</a></em></p>
<p><em> This post (and the comments) on Rob Hopkins book is also
relevant:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://transitionculture.org/2008/06/20/the-fascinating-story-of-a-viral-drum-break/">http://transitionculture.org/2008/06/20/the-fascinating-story-of-a-viral-drum-break/</a></em></p>
<p><em> The fact is, copying isn’t theft (the owner of the original
copy still has their copy) and ALL creative work is derivative.</em></p>
<p><em> As for your threats to get Chelsea Green etc to sue me…</em></p>
<p><em> 1. I have no money and no assets (OK, I admit, I do have
about 300GBP in savings and 1000GBP invested in the Ecological Land
Co-op, plus a few other bits and bobs here and there), so not sure what
they’d achieve with that.</em></p>
<p><em> 2. The small two-person co-op I work for and founded, United
Diversity, is all about helping people to discover, contribute to and
replicate intelligent responses to climate, energy and economic
uncertainty. Our purpose is to improve quality of life on Earth whilst
simultaneously reducing ecological footprint. Is this really the sort of
organisation you want to sue?</em></p>
<p><em> 3. As part of our work, we are indirect long-term customers
of your publisher, Chelsea Green (through UK distributors, Green Books).
I have personally set-up and run market stalls at green fairs and
festivals all over the UK and have sold 100s, probably 1000s of their
hard copy books, including yours. Is this really the sort of person
you’d want your publishers to waste their time and money trying to sue
from across the Atlantic? Are there not many many far more urgent and
important (let alone more fun, interesting and inspiring) things to be
getting on with and using precious resources to do?</em></p>
<p><em> 4. I personally take the viewpoint that whilst sharing
copyrighted material that is not released under a Creative Commons (or
some other modern, open, license) is technically illegal, that sharing
it is in fact preventing a far greater crime; widespread ignorance and
the destruction of ecosystems everywhere. Note that in the UK this
argument has on numerous occasions stood up in a court of law. See, for
example:
<a href="http://uniteddiversity.com/damaging-property-to-prevent-climate-change-is-legal/">http://uniteddiversity.com/damaging-property-to-prevent-climate-change-is-legal/</a></em></p>
<p><em> So whilst I “might want to take those books down”, then
again, I might not.</em></p>
<p><em> Afterall, what good would it really achieve?</em></p>
<p><em> Like I said before, everything on
<a href="http://files.uniteddiversity.com">http://files.uniteddiversity.com</a> is not only really important info very
pertinent to our times, but its also already out in the wild. It is
literally impossible to remove it from the Internet at large (which is
where I got it all from in the first place).</em></p>
<p><em> What is really the point of removing it from my
lovingly-collated pdf collection when anyone who can get online (that’ll
be nearly 1/3 of the population on Earth then, nearly 2 billion people)
and knows how to search
<a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=gaias+garden+.torrent">http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=gaias+garden+.torrent</a> will be able to
find it and download it from peers spread all over the globe (some of
which, no doubt, live in jurisdictions with more sensible, i.e.
non-existent, copyright laws).</em></p>
<p><em> Of course, we’ve all got to make a livelihood. And in this
overly monestised world we find ourselves in, part of that involves
creating/ producing stuff for sale to others for money – because most of
us still need money to live (although don’t say that to my friend Mark
“Moneyless Man” Boyle who has lived for about 2 years without using
money at all and is currently blogging about others who’ve been doing it
for years <a href="http://www.justfortheloveofit.org/blog">http://www.justfortheloveofit.org/blog</a> ).</em></p>
<p><em> And, of course, I think creators of all kinds, authors
included, ought to be fairly compensated for their efforts.</em></p>
<p><em> One possible solution to this conundrum in the digital age is
what is known at the Street Performer Protocol or Threshold Pledge
System</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_pledge_system">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_pledge_system</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.logarithmic.net/pfh/rspp">http://www.logarithmic.net/pfh/rspp</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.schneier.com/paper-street-performer.html">http://www.schneier.com/paper-street-performer.html</a></em></p>
<p><em> Numerous online crowdfunding platforms (e.g. Kickstarter.com,
IndieGoGo.com etc.) are now available that facilitate such a system.</em></p>
<p><em> Flattr <a href="http://flattr.com/">http://flattr.com/</a> , launched last August, is also a
great model that nicely fits the world we now inhabit.</em></p>
<p><em> How about we try an experiment?</em></p>
<p><em> Next time you are about to start writing a new book, or a new
edition of an existing book, you estimate the amount of work it’ll
take, and the revenue you’d expect to make, and then, using one of the
many crowdfunding platforms, simply ask people to give you however much
you think is fair, up front. In return you could agree to publish it as a
public domain work, gifting it to the global commons. That’d be
awesome! You could also simultaneously publish the book online and put
flattr buttons on each and every post/ page.</em></p>
<p><em> I bet that would work. You could probably make even more
money from your writing by publishing that way than you do now.
Meanwhile your important work would be legally free to share (thankfully
its already free to share, just not legally) and we’d all be a step
closer to creating and living in the the world we want (not in a world
dominated by bankers, lawyers and monocultures). Moreover, people like
me who dedicate their lives to collecting and spreading important
information wouldn’t have to live their lives in fear of law suits!</em></p>
<p><em> You’d also gain respect from all the cool young kids who’ve
grown up with the Internet (i.e. the very people we NEED to get doing
permaculture NOW) and who understand intuitively that artificially
creating scarcity of electronic goods is as absurd as pretending the
world is infinite and the economy can grow forever.</em></p>
<p><em> If you try it and it doesn’t work, I’ll happily take your
book down from <a href="http://files.uniteddiversity.com">http://files.uniteddiversity.com</a> despite the fact that
this would be fairly pointless and the only thing it is likely to
achieve is to very very slightly reduce your book sales as less people
(i.e. those few that find it via my website) discover your important
work.</em></p>
<p><em> Warmest regards and much respect,</em></p>
<p><em> Josef.”</em></p><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 3:46 AM, Josef Davies-Coates <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:josef@uniteddiversity.com">josef@uniteddiversity.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">Hi all,<br><br>People here may be interested in this amusing but tragic story about copyright,
piracy and 21st century business models (read all the comments for the
full picture):<br><a href="http://uniteddiversity.com/email-to-toby-hemenway-re-piracy/" target="_blank">http://uniteddiversity.com/email-to-toby-hemenway-re-piracy/</a><br clear="all"><br>Enjoy!<br><br>Josef.<br><br>PS - I think I'll repost it with all the comments included in the post as "Copyright: The Comic Tragedy" because I think that actually describes what its ending being better than the current title. Michel: perhaps I should cross-post it to the P2P blog too?<br>
<font color="#888888">
<br><br>-- <br>Josef Davies-Coates<br>07974 88 88 95<br><a href="http://uniteddiversity.com" target="_blank">http://uniteddiversity.com</a><br>Together We Have Everything<br>
</font><br>_______________________________________________<br>
P2P Foundation - Mailing list<br>
<a href="http://www.p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://www.p2pfoundation.net</a><br>
<a href="https://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation" target="_blank">https://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation</a><br>
<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>P2P Foundation: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net">http://p2pfoundation.net</a> - <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net</a> <br><br>Connect: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.ning.com">http://p2pfoundation.ning.com</a>; Discuss: <a href="http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation">http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation</a><br>
<br>Updates: <a href="http://del.icio.us/mbauwens">http://del.icio.us/mbauwens</a>; <a href="http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens">http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens</a>; <a href="http://twitter.com/mbauwens">http://twitter.com/mbauwens</a>; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens">http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens</a><br>
<br><br><br><br><br><br>