Ending the war on sharing

Copy­right was set up after the print­ing press made copy­ing a mat­ter of mass pro­duc­tion, typ­ic­ally done com­mer­cially. Copy­right was accept­able in that tech­no­lo­gical con­text because it func­tioned as an indus­trial reg­u­la­tion, not restrict­ing read­ers or (later) music listen­ers.
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Today’s digital tech­no­logy enables every­one to make and share cop­ies. Record com­pan­ies now seek to use copy­right law to deny us the use of this tech­nical advance. The law which was accept­able when it restric­ted only pub­lish­ers is now an injustice because it for­bids cooper­a­tion among citizens.

End­ing the War on Shar­ing by Richard Stall­man.