#Copyright Infringement Still Isn’t Theft, Even When A Microsoft Employee Says It Is - https://www.techdirt.com/2026/09/23/copyright-infringement-still-isnt-theft-even-when-a-microsoft-employee-says-it-is/ @mmasnick explains why, for the nth time...
@glynmoody @mmasnick "theft of labor" is an interesting phrase. Can labor be property? Infringement is about compensation, either through attribution or payment. Can "theft of labor" be literally interpreted as "theft"? IANAL; I just found this aspect interesting.
I'm sure that a lot of college professors would argue against students having free access to their latest texts, so even training might have its fair use limits. How many subscriptions did bots have?
@glynmoody @mmasnick Maybe it's a USA thing (or out of date experience), but I spent a lot of money on textbooks written by a full professor in charge of the class, who would reference things that only existed in the latest edition so you couldn't use an older, cheaper edition.
@glynmoody @mmasnick I thought so too at the time; I quickly learned that college was about money, not academics. :-( Went from bright eyed kid to jaded adult.
FWIW, the smaller colleges seemed to be less money-hungry than the bigger ones. My dad was an associate professor at a small one, and I took a couple of classes there in the summer. I was amazed that undergrads could actually talk to the professors there.
@lwriemen that's a pretty deep betrayal of academia... @mmasnick