Page:Culture.vs.Copyright 01.pdf/91

 Teacher: Me neither.

Kappa: It is good that he didn’t jump on the desk like someone else.

Teacher: Gamma, what about your question? Do you remember it?

Gamma: Uh-huh. When you cook an exotic meal, a lot of different ideas, inventions, and techniques are used, right?

Teacher: Definitely.

Gamma: What about all those?

Alpha: What about them?

Gamma: What about them? Think for a second. If you want royalties from Beta, thousands of other people may ask for royalties from you! Don’t you think?

Delta: So everybody will be sitting down and calculating royalties day and night and nothing else?

Gamma: And that makes no sense at all!

Beta: And then one day they’ll forget about royalties, stand up, and just go back to their business.

Kappa: I have a declaration to make: People have to share ideas in order for civilization to exist!

Alpha: Impressive. I have one proposition and one question.

Teacher: Go ahead.

Alpha: Thank you. The question goes first. Suppose I opt for attribution. What about those thousands of ideas now? Do I have to sit down and write down all ideas I’ve used, then conduct research to determine their authors, and then attach tons of paper with references to every single menu, plate, napkin, and so forth? Now here is my proposition: Beta does not have to pay royalties for his whole life, only for a limited time. How about that?

Kappa: In the beginning or later?

Gamma: How much later?

Alpha: Who knows, what happens later?

Kappa: OK, Alpha, so you want royalties at the precise time that times are hard for Beta, right?

Alpha: But for a limited time! A business is always difficult in the beginning, anyway!

Kappa: Then let it be even more difficult, right?

Alpha: Why should I care?