[FC-discuss] Free Thesis Project Released Today

[Crosbie Fitch]

>From: Fred Benenson
>The point is, it's counterproductive to start shouting about how 
>corrupted the university's intentions and policies are when we're not
>really discussing specifics. 

I'd suggest that issues are easier to understand and communicate if you
polarise the argument away from esoteric subtleties.

I'd use the term 'emphasis' rather than 'shouting', but I do aspire to being
productive in my posts. :)

>I get wary once we start arguing that we should override thoughtful
>decisions for the sake of our own ideology. 

It's a matter of first deciding whether universities are self-sufficient
commercial enterprises with employee subsidised tuition one of many
services, and academic certificates one of many products, or whether they
are philanthropic centres of learning, research and development.

Only in the latter case could we persuade reform of their IP policies to
deliver their IP unencumbered to the public. It is not enough simply to
withold copyright and patent from the student, the liberties must be
restored to the public.

Free culture is not about empowering the student author in their claim to
copyright and use thereof (that's a Creative Commons mission), it's about
restoring the liberty of the public (including granting the public access to
work supposedly created for their benefit).

So, here, I'm only suggesting that students should at least be empowered to
dedicate their work to the public, and restore the liberty of the public to
use, share, study, and build upon their work.

Enabling the student to enjoy a monopoly on the commercial exploitation of
their work, is not a function of universities, and nor should it be. They
may be supported in their attempts to assert this.

However, the university should become custodian of these monopolies only in
order to nullify them - not to exploit them.

The moment the university falls short of this, or worse, enjoys their
commercial benefit, is the moment the philanthropic student has just cause
to usurp responsibility for restoring the public's liberty - to at least the
work the student produced.