User:Emesee/Proposal/Scriptorium

Note:''This thread was originally started in the Scriptorium within "Other discussions".

Library of copyrighted materials
Some libraries have systems where you can checkout a book digitally. Might we ever have a similar system for books in some manner? Emesee 20:11, 29 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Checking out material implies ownership, and anyone can already "checkout" everything we have at no cost. Expanding our holdings to include copyright protected material could lead to what we suggest, but that strikes me as contrary to the principle of providing free material to those who use this or any other Wikimedia Foundation project. Eclecticology 22:52, 29 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, it might be like... putting them here in advanced; the copyright would likely run out eventually. I assume we would not want to use DRM (I could be wrong, but probably not).
 * Suppose Wikimedians have books to donate. They donate books, the books are scanned, and then destroyed or put somewhere secure. People can checkout books online; and only one person can check them out at a time. When checking a book out, people agree to delete the ebook with in a certain period of time; after this time, someone else can virtually checkout (download) the book. So we might have a digital copy of some book, and it only is downloaded 26 times a year. I would be curious what a lawyer would say about this ideas feasibility. Some libraries do something quite like it, but from what I understand, using DRM. Eventually, after 50 or 70 years, or however long, everyone could download the book all they like. But like I said, I don't know what a lawyer would say about this. Does that all make sense? Emesee 17:17, 30 August 2008 (UTC)
 * While there are certainly legal issues involved, I don't think that feasibility for this proposal depends so much on lawyers as on technical developments. To be sure the support that most of us have for DRMs is closer to hostility.  A rule that someone must delete material within a specified time is only as good as enforceability, and that raises some very serious questions about the rights of others to control what happens on our individual computers.  Instinctually, my reaction when I see something like that is to ask, "How do I get around it?" Eclecticology 18:00, 30 August 2008 (UTC)
 * So if technical concerns were not an issue, then Wikisource as a community might be gung-ho? Emesee 05:22, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Not at all. The other issues would still be there, but there's no point trying to answer them on a hypothetical basis as long as the technical issues appear insurmountable. Eclecticology 16:14, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * The technical issues may seem insurmountable to you, but not so to myself. I must not be sure what you are referring to with respect to the technical issues. So if you would indulge me with an exploration of the other issues or the technical issues that you find insurmountable (are there any you do find surmountable? there is more than a few technical issues here, yes?), I would be hooked. Emesee 18:48, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * The technical issue is how do you ensure the borrower has deleted the borrowed copy on their computer, without installing some kind of Spyware. Additionally you have the problem that posting copyrighted materiel on Wikisource, Wikipedia or any other in the same family is counter to the most basic premise of the project that everything is free. I doubt that you will find anyone interested here. Jeepday (talk) 00:38, 2 September 2008 (UTC)
 * That is why I would be interested in the input of a lawyer. If upon downloading these works, someone has an option of choosing how long they would like to check a book out, and then they can agree to that in some legally binding way, it might relieve the Wikimedia Foundation of liability. That is really for the legal people to say. Based on the response over the last few days, it doesn't sound like there is strong interest here, which is fine. I hope anyone who might be interested in developing this idea would feel free to contact me or bring it up on Meta or something. Emesee 03:48, 2 September 2008 (UTC)