> On Sep 2, 2011, at 3:51 PM, SA wrote:
>
>> Copyright on music or prose creates above-normal profit just as much as a patent on a machine does. In both cases profit is higher because the inventor/writer is given a monopoly on production.
> Monopoly compared to what? No one else has written my book.
>
> That's rather different from a patent on the 4th iteration on Valium, or whatever they're up to now.
It's a monopoly on producing new copies. Compared to a situation where anyone could Xerox/scan your book and sell it (or give it away) themselves, it creates "above-normal" profit for you. It's just like the 4th iteration of Valium, except you're more original. But Melissa Harrylace-Perrywell also gets copyright protection and she's not.
SA