Fake News written by James Baughn on February 4,
2002
from the don't-even-think-about-fair-use dept.
NEW YORK -- Publishers from all across the country met this week
at the first annual Book Publishers Assocation of America (BPAA)
meeting. Many of the booths on the showroom floor were devoted to
the single most important issue facing the publishing industry:
fighting copyright violations. From "End Reader License Agreements"
to age-decaying ink, the anti-copying market has exploded into a
multi-million dollar enterprise.
"How can authors and publishers hope to make ends meet when
the country is rapidly filling with evil libraries that distribute
our products for free to the general public?" asked the chairman
of the BPAA during his keynote address. "That blasted Andrew
Carnegie is spending all kinds of his own ill-gotten money to open
libraries in cities nationwide. He calls it charity. I call it anti-competitive
business practices hoping to bankrupt the entire publishing industry.
We must fight these anti-profit, pro-copying librarians and put
an end to this scourge!"
Everybody in attendance had their own plans for eliminating unauthorized
copying. One publisher has already started to print "End Reader
License Agreements" on the cover of all his books. "By
opening this book you agree to the following terms..." the
license starts. It continues, "You may not share, sell, rent,
or loan this book to any other person. You may not read this book
aloud, quote passages, or make copies of any length without the
express written permission of the publisher. You may not write or
distribute negative reviews of this book under any circumstances..."
