[epub] Copying ideas

["Azriel Winnett" <winn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: "Azriel Winnett" <winn@internet-zahav.net>

A phenomenon I've noticed in the e-publishing industry lately
disturbs me a little. It's not for the likes of me to pass
judgment, but at the very least, it deserves some comment.

It usually happens like this: someone will publish an article
containing his or her ideas or insights on a given topic. Then, a
short time - sometimes even mere hours - later, another writer,
operating in the same field, will come out with an article
espousing the same ideas, and in the same or a similar context.
The difference is that they are presented in the second author's
own words and own style.    

Now, we should make two things clear. Firstly, there's nothing
illegal about this. A person can claim copyright protection on
his or her words, but not on ideas. Secondly, it's certainly not
unreasonable to assume that two professionals, laboring day and
night in the same field, will independently come to the same
conclusions about a given problem.

But over and against these two points, I have two other
observations. Because something is legal, doesn't necessarily
mean that it's right. As publishers, we know the blood and sweat
that goes into formulating our ideas, crystallizing our thoughts
and putting them down on paper. We often find this even when
we're experts on the subjects we're discussing. Sure, most
writers might be happy that their ideas are taken up and
propagated by others - but surely they deserve credit, an
acknowledgment, at least, that the concepts originated with them?  

With regard to my second point above, sometimes the timing of the
respective appearances of the two pieces makes the "independent
conclusions" theory somewhat improbable. Besides, one publisher
openly stated this week that he finds rival publications a
valuable resource when hard-pressed for fresh content; he merely
gives the ideas a unique twist, or words to that effect. Fair
enough - but surely there should be credit where credit is due?       




Azriel Winnett        Hodu Winning Documents                 
winn@internet-zahav.net    http://www.hodu.com        
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