Re: Google books

["jrc" <jrccea@bellsouth.net>]

Mike, per Robert's and Ginny's wishes, all the income from their estate has 
been distributed to and is devoted to non-profit uses that benefit the 
public.  Part of Robert's income is used to support the public library in 
his home town.  Most of it is used to fund a semi-annual award that Ginny 
(Robert's widow) established to benefit the development of space flight 
(that trust is managed by Art Dula).  Another lump sum grant was given to 
the US Naval academy to found and support a Chair in aerospace engineering 
at Annapolis.  No offense intended, but all of these are non-profit uses 
that provide far more long term benefits to the common good than do 
copyright piracy and theft.

As an aside, I do not myself benefit from Robert's copyrights.  Keep in mind 
that this is not my library, nor even a library near my home town or where I 
live.  Ginny asked me to sit on the Library Foundation that supports the 
Butler Public Library as a favor to her and offered to pay my expenses to 
make the trip to Butler, MO each year.  I refused to take her money when she 
was alive and continue to refuse to do so now that she has passed on.  So 
basically, the public benefits from Robert's and Ginny's income come with a 
repetitive dead expense to me -- which is how it should be.
JimC

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Taylor" <mike@indexdata.com>
To: <jrccea@bellsouth.net>
Cc: <jeff@jeffhecht.com>; <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Friday, January 08, 2010 2:35 AM
Subject: Re: Google books


> Jim, it's nice for you that you happen to benefit from the work of a
> twenty-years dead author; but surely the mere fact that you come out
> of the copyright equation ahead of the game shouldn't influence
> whether or not you think its _right_.  To pick a reductio-ad-absurdum
> parallel, that would be like supporting slavery because your family
> benefits from having slaves.  Support for the current copyright regime
> must surely come from consideration of whether it's _right_, not of
> who benefits.