Hey Kit!
 I thought the fact that you contacted Disney to get permission to show
 "Beauty and the Beast" at your 30th Birthday Party was most interesting.
 But when you revealed that you had legally changed your middle name to
 Disney... well I thought that was quite remarkable!
 In the spirit of sharing, I thought you might like to know that someone
 at Disney liked my name so much that they put it on Mickey Mouse t-shirts
 and sold them!  I was shocked ( and quite flattered ) when years after
 I had conceived the name, "Animation Nation," I spied one of the shirts
 at an international computer graphics convention.  You see, I knew nothing
 about the fact that they were using my name on products they were selling!
 Kit, we've been discussing copyrights and the rights of the consumer.
 In my life, I've worked as a photographer, artist and writer, and
 this area of law has long been a source of concern for me.  The truth
 is that with the advent of photocopiers, digital scanners, cameras,
 computers and other technology, it has become increasingly difficult,
 if not impossible to protect one's work and only companies with a lot
 of time, money, legal expertise and other resources can afford to go
 after people who are stealing or illegally using their properties.
 In his recent State of the Union Address, the President reaffirmed his
 commitment to provide every student in the U.S. over the age of 12 with
 an Internet account!  Do you know how many new Internet users that is?
 Page through the computer publications on the rack at your supermarket!
 The headlines beckon you to "_Bring your personal database online_" and
 "Learn about the software and hardware that makes it possible to transmit
 live audio and video instantaneously around the world!!"
 Do you see the trend yet???
 The global economy is undergoing a change so radical that few people really
 understand what is truly happening.  Communication satellites, fiber optic
 cable, the World Wide Web and the Internet make it possible to do business
 with people anywhere on the planet from whatever location you want to do
 business, whether that's a hilltop in Oregon or oceanside in Sri Lanka!
 The World Wide Web is the new global marketplace where money,
 products and services are shifted around the world as a steady
 digital stream of "ones and zeroes!"
 Using your computer and the telephone lines, you can buy line art,
 recipes, books, animation for a television commercial, digitized
 photographs, games, newsletters and so much more... all on the Web!
 You pay for these products and services by instantly transferring
 money from your bank to another bank using your MasterCard, VISA,
 American Express, Discover Card or some other form of digital cash.
 In other words... you send some "ones and zeroes" to them and
 they send some "ones and zeroes" to you.  Get the picture??
 Now answer this: Who will police the Internet and Web pages all around
 the world searching through all of those BBSes, Internet messages, and
 Web pages looking for unauthorized use of copyrighted content?
 Even if it was possible to do so, how do you think already over-burdened
 courts could handle the loads of new cases?  How do we deal with BBSes
 and Web sites located in countries that don't recognize our copyrights?
 How much will it cost to protect all of this information?
 And  _WHO IS GOING TO PAY?_
 Kit, recognize that money and personnel dedicated to protecting existing
 information is money and personnel that could be dedicated to producing
 new information... information that might save lives... information that
 might aid us in cleaning up the planet... information that might aid us
 in achieving our full potential as human beings!!!
 Like man, information yearns to be free.  How long can we afford to keep
 it locked up?  How long will we be able to justify pouring more and more
 resources into protecting information and preventing others from using it?
 Companies such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald's and Disney spends lots of
 time and money protecting their logos, names and image.  They can afford
 to do it.  Still, with the ever-increasing number of people coming online
 with all manner of aliases such as "Dr. Pepper," there seems to be no end
 to the problems of trying to protect intellectual property.
 So, here is another question for you:  Several years ago, I created
 the name "Animation Nation" with the desire of sharing my interests
 in computer graphics and animation.  It is a registered service mark.
 I'm just a single man who lives in a one-bedroom apartment.  I can't
 remember a time when I was debt-free.  How can little guys like me,
 who are already having a hard time just trying to keep the lights on...
 how can we protect our intellectual property?  It takes time and money
 (that I don't have).  And it can be a severe drain on your health too!
 If you want to talk about copyrights, then these are the things that
 I wish you and everyone else would think about.  Because these are the
 issues that will be affecting you in the very near future!
 ...The Gibbous Gipper of Notre Dame
       looking forward to Topsy-Turvy Day
             Way Down Yonder in New Orleans...          Happy Mardi Gras!
--- PPoint 2.00
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