Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Why Copyright Is Important to Me

In a recent posting to his blog, James Tanner writes: "I am talking about all the other stuff, blog posts, notes on family trees, biographies, surname books etc. that have absolutely no expectation of making a dime for their authors. What then is the benefit of copyright to these people?"

First, all the stuff that I write on my blog may not pay me *directly*, but may pay me *indirectly*, by enhancing my reputation, so that societies may pay me to speak, and publishers may pay me to write.

Second, I have the right to *control* how my copyrightable material gets used.  The reality is, there are individuals and organizations who I support, and individuals and organizations who I do not support.  If someone I support asks me to use my material, I may happily give them permission.  If someone I do not support asks me, I may choose to refuse.  Without copyright protection, I would not have this option. 

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