View source for The fundamental concept of selling information simply doesn’t make sense (nonfiction)

'''The fundamental concept of selling information simply doesn’t make sense''' is the first sentence of a short essay posted in the comments at Boing Boing by user Bobtato. 

<blockquote>
The fundamental concept of ''selling information'' simply doesn’t make sense. It is counter to the nature of physical reality. Even when information was sold on paper and vinyl, there was never really a coherent or fair scheme to decide who got what; it’s always just been a rolling, undecidable argument between the people who are indispensible to the enterprise and the rentiers who have unlimited power to take what they want. And it’s exponentially more complicated where there’s more than one party in each of those groups.

The only system we’ve ever really had is: you make something, and then you hope people will give you more money than other people take from you. IMO, right now, if you set your sights low then you can do OK from the former without attracting too much of the latter. But if you are determined to make millions from your album or movie, you’re going to have to make exploitative deals, and you’re going to get sued and takedowned by people who have spent decades honing their grift. I don’t think Hollywood movies and triple-A games can exist without eye-watering levels of exploitation.

It’s the same with privacy. Featuring unwitting subjects in your work is something you get away with– you can’t really justify not having their permission – and the more money and exposure it earns you, the less you can and should get away with it.
</blockquote>

== Fiction cross-reference ==

* [[Gnomon algorithm]]
* [[Gnomon Chronicles]]

== Nonfiction cross-reference ==

* [[Intellectual property (nonfiction)]]

External links:

* [https://bbs.boingboing.net/t/copyright-and-the-male-gaze-a-feminist-critique-of-copyright-law/133589/14 Comment by Bobtato] @ Boing Boing

[[Category:Nonfiction (nonfiction)]]
[[Category:Intellectual property (nonfiction)]]