Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!umd5!mimsy!chris
From: chris@mimsy.UUCP (Chris Torek)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: lotus chairman makes 26 million
Message-ID: <11454@mimsy.UUCP>
Date: 12 May 88 08:45:58 GMT
References: <380@motbos.UUCP> <9160@cisunx.UUCP> <11334@mimsy.UUCP> <458@white.gcm>
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742
Lines: 77

[subject left alone so that kill files work]

>In article <11334@mimsy.UUCP> I wrote a little parable:
>>I have just invented a matter duplicator.  A friend drove his new BMW
>>over here this weekend, and we put it in the `original' side; I
>>shoveled an equal mass of dirt into the hopper, and produced an exact
>>copy. ... Was that immoral?

So many people have misinterpreted this that I feel compelled to
elaborate.  Apologies to those reading comp.misc for things that are
related directly to computing.

In article <458@white.gcm> dc@gcm (Dave Caswell) writes:
>Of course you forgot to state that he agreed not to copy it and that it is
>against the law.

I really did buy a new car (alas, not a BMW :-) ) some months ago.
There was nothing in the sales agreement making copying illegal.
Various parts on the thing are patented, but that too does not make
them illegal to copy.  (Ask a patent lawyer for details.  It amounts to
certain types of `home use' being legal.)

In point of fact, copying a car with such a device would be illegal,
but not for the reasons everyone seems to believe.  It would be illegal
because it would have the same serial number as the original, and the
same license plates.  And as far as I can tell, those are the *only*
reasons the *act of copying* would be illegal.

It would, of course, also be illegal to drive the copy on public roads,
as matter duplications are not approved for safety, and so forth.  But
all of these are largely irrelevant:  I was not questioning the
legality of software pirating---it is quite definitely illegal--- but
rather trying to lead some of you to realise that copying and stealing
are not identical, and therefore the immorality of the former act (if
you believe, as I do, that stealing is immoral) does not, in and of
itself, impart immorality to the latter.

*Is* copying immoral?  No and yes.  I remain unconvinced of both
answers.  Is it illegal?  Yes.  Should you do it?  I advise not:  the
law holds no regard for morals.  (That last is a job for the judge and
jury.)

>>(Alas, the duplicate and the duplicator were both unstable, and both
>>just dissolved back into piles of virtual particles.)

>Do you call it Chris Torek Inc?  How much do you charge for a 535i?
>Is Prevention against disintegration guaranteed for the first
>twelve months?

Just supposing I did invent a duplicator---one not built of virtual
particles and imaginary transmuters---my current inclination would be
to give it away.  As soon as you had one, and she had one, and they had
one, why, everyone would have one.  The economy would suffer horribly,
and the government would dither madly, and after a while, and maybe a
war or two as various governments tried to suppress the invention,
everything would settle down and the matter of real-object copies would
finally have been answered.

>Sort of like joy riding correct?

*No*.  Given the concept of property ownership, joyriding is clearly
immoral (unless the owner gives the `joyer' the keys and says `go
have fun').  And in any case, there is a risk to the original, and
there is wear upon it; if the joyrider uses only a copy, there is
no risk to the original (beyond the copying process) and there is
no wear on the original.

So let me try it again, on a rather less emotional subject.  Suppose I
had such a method of duplication, and used it on my wheezy old 1979
Chevette Scooter (the Chevette was not my idea; I bought it from my
father years ago).  Legality questions aside, would that be immoral?
*Think* about your answer---do not tell it to me; I really do not care
very much.  But think about it, and consider this too:  Does your answer
change if the duplication consists of hand-crafting each part?  (And
have I taken one too many philosophy classes? :-) )
-- 
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 7163)
Domain:	chris@mimsy.umd.edu	Path:	uunet!mimsy!chris