copied whole, with permission, from QuestionCopyright.Org
Content is an unlimited resource. People can now make perfect copies of digital content for free. That’s why they expect content to be free – because it is in fact free. That is GOOD.
Think of “content” – culture – as water. Where water flows, life flourishes.
Containers – objects like books, DVDs, hard drives, apparel, action figures, and prints – are not free. They are a limited resource. No one expects these objects to be free, and people voluntarily pay good money for them.
Think of “containers” – books, discs, hard drives – as jugs and vessels. These containers add utility to and increase the value of the water. If you can get water for free in the public river, great – that doesn’t reduce the value of vessels. Quite the contrary: when rivers flow, the utility and value of water vessels increases.
