Visual Education has sold language flashcards for years. Part of the value of the product is selecting *which* 1000 words to include in a set of language cards. I’m sure this information was hard-won by consulting linguists, or more likely paying a professor to compile a list and format the cards the first time. They charge a premium for the cards vs. the same cards blank (compare their set of 1000 Portuguese flashcards for $14.95 versus their set of 1000 blank flashcards for $6.95). I willingly pay this premium, but any entrepreneur could put together a set of language cards and sell them just like Vis-Ed.
Indeed, they could copy Vis-Ed’s list of words. I have no idea whether Vis-Ed can or does have a copyright on their list of words. Hard to see how they could. And yet, the premium charge is there and consumers willingly pay it.
With a BS and MS in chemical engineering, Gil has worked in the engineering and construction business since 1994 as a process engineer, project engineer, and project manager. He is Head of Engineering at a clean fuels company. He ran for US Congress in 2000 and 2002 on the Libertarian Party ticket. He has studied and published on subscription patrol and restitution and has intentions to start such a company. He has written for lewrockwell.com, mises.org, strike-the-root.com, and anti-state.com.
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Vis-Ed – An Example of How IP Doesn’t Matter http://ff.im/-r31O4
September 24, 2010RT @libstandard: New blogpost: The Libertarian Standard » Vis-Ed - An Example of How IP Doesn't Matter | http://bit.ly/dw34ly
September 25, 2010