From: Jim choate <ravage@wixer.bga.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 94 09:42:06 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: archiving on inet
Message-ID: <9401241708.AA12707@wixer>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


I want to thank everyone for their input on this topic, very enlightening...

Seems to me that if a work is by simply being created has a copyright on it
then every inet provider who stores material a hard drive could be prosecuted
for copyright infringement.

There has been some question raised as to why this is important to cpunks, it
goes like this. If we are going to creat a workable system then some form of
release has to be done so that work that goes over inet is public unless
explicity noted as copyrighted and must include a fair use statement OR it
must be in a form that prohibits casual access. What this last point means to
me is that if it is copyrighted it should be encrypted. This encryptred file
would have a address and public key attacked. To unlock the file you would
contact the author and fulfill their requirements for fair use (ie pay money
for a book). The author would then send a private key to the user who coul
then unlock the file and use it. Anyone who had possession of a unlocked file
without a private key and being on the authors list of authorized users would
be committing a clear case of theft. Anyone who gave a third party a valid
private key would be committing conspiracy.

At this point I expect my home node to come online in a couple of weeks (we
may have finaly solved the bugs that kept us down) and should start allowing
public access a week or so after that. Each user who calls my system will
need agree to a statement of something like the following:

I, (username), agree that any material which I create on this system or one
of its satellite systems is public domain. I also agree that this statement
is binding to my physical person and not to a particular handle or name that
I may choose to use or change. I further agree that any material of
commercial or of a copyrighted nature MUST contain a fair use policy that
prohibits ONLY commercial use AND will contain a real address by which any
person may contact me for further interaction. I further agree that any file
which is of a commercial or copyrighted nature and does not fulfill the above
conditions MUST be encrypted and contain in plain-text a address whereby a
person may contact me for access the un-encrypted material. I further agree
that as long a the file is encrypted OR contains a fair use statement I wiwll
not bring any legal proceeding against ANY provider or user in Internet or
other electronic system this material may be transfered to for storage.

Does anyone see any problems with such a proviso?