In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Rick Smith at
Secure Computing writes:
>At 09:20 PM 10/29/00, Peter Wayner wrote:
>
>>What is obsolete anyways? The question to me sounds like the one children
>>would ask: "how old is old?" Well, it's as old as you feel. Are Sony Beta
>>tapes obsolete? Most will say yes, but I think there are devotees who will
>>say "No". I know that the average schmoe thinks that vinyl is obsolete,
>>but I know that serious audiophiles love the format.
>>>
>>>In practice, an obsolete system might be one where no corporate entity
>>>exists that wants to sue. But maybe there could be a technical definition.
>
>Hmmm. If you're stuck with some Divix disks, aren't they arguably
>'obsolete' since there's no entity around to provide the decryption keys?
>
>Of course I'm not a lawyer, but I thought the Constitution endorsed
>copyrights and patents as ways to provide "limited" rights to creators.
>It's considered a benefit to the nation that such works eventually enter
>the public domain.
>
Right, and for that reason we may see a switch in the protection model,
towards licensing and hardware protection, rather than copyright.
(Whit Diffie has spoken eloquently on the consequences of this trend.)
--Steve Bellovin
