more on Feds' weather information could go dark

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Donna Wentworth <donna () eff org>
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2005 10:17:40 -0700
To: <dave () farber net>
Cc: Ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Feds' weather information could go dark

James Boyle has written an excellent Financial Times column exploring
why this kind of thing happens:

Deconstructing Stupidity
<http://news.ft.com/cms/s/39b697dc-b25e-11d9-bcc6-00000e2511c8.html>

The stupidity in question is the way that governments typically make
intellectual property law and policy -- that is, without evidence that
it will produce the desired social or economic benefit.  According to
Boyle, it's not only "corporate capture" that makes governments stupid
about copyright. They also suffer from any number of delusions, making
them susceptible to anecdote and scaremongering.

In a previous article
<http://news.ft.com/cms/s/cd58c216-8663-11d9-8075-00000e2511c8.html>,
Boyle pointed out that in the US, we make weather data available at cost
-- yet we have a thriving private weather industry.  Now Senator
Santorum wants to prevent the National Weather Service from giving away
weather information because it competes with the Weather Channel.

Says Santorum, "It is not an easy prospect for a business to attract
advertisers, subscribers or investors when the government is providing
similar products and services for free."

How many people will challenge the Senator on his assumption that the
weather industry can't compete with free? I'll wager not many -- despite
the fact that it already is.

------ End of Forwarded Message


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