What's wrong with this Picture?            1. A brand-new PhD recipient proudly tells his mother he has just         published his first article. She asks him how much he was paid for it. He makes         a face and tells her "nothing," and then begins a long, complicated explanation...             2. A fellow-researcher at that same university sees a reference to that same         article. He goes to their library to get it: "It's not subscribed to here. We can't         afford that journal. (Our subscription/license/loan/copy budget is already         overspent)"             3. An undergraduate at that same university sees the same article cited on         the Web. He clicks on it. The publisher's website demands a password:         "Access Denied:Only pre-paid subscribing/licensed institutions have access to         this journal."             4. The undergraduate loses patience, gets bored, and clicks on Napster to         grab an MP3 file of his favourite bootleg CD to console him in his sorrows.             5. Years later, the same PhD is being considered for tenure. His         publications are good, but they're not cited enough; they have not made enough         of a "research impact." Tenure denied.             6. Same thing happens when he tries to get a research grant: His research         findings have not had enough of an impact: Not enough researchers have read,         built upon and cited them. Funding denied.             7. He decides to write a book instead. Book publishers decline to publish         it: "It wouldn't sell enough copies because not enough universities have enough         money to pay for it. (Their purchasing budgets are tied up paying for their         inflating annual journal subscription/license/loan costs...)"             8. He tries to put his articles up on the Web, free for all, to increase their         impact. His publisher threatens to sue him and his server-provider for violation         of copyright.             9. He asks his publisher: "Who is this copyright intended to protect?" His         publisher replies:  "You!"   What's wrong with this picture?            (And why is the mother of the PhD whose give-away work people cannot         steal, even though he wants them to, in the same boat as the mother of the         recording artist whose non-give-away work they can and do steal, even though         he does not want them to?)