Vol. 64, No. 3 Autumn 2019 194 Piracy…Again


T e ubiquity and normality of online access in the developed world is a boon for many of us, especially for consumers. We can locate items we want or need from sources all over the world, compare prices to fi nd the best deals, and arrange for our purchases to arrive at our front doors, all without leaving our desks (or armchairs). For those of us who engage in research, we can (virtually) walk into an astonishing array of archives, libraries, museums, and other repositories, explore or


rummage through their


holdings, and locate information relatively quickly. Oſt en, it would require years of work and miles of travel to accomplish the same goals and, very oſt en, we also fi nd records and information that we might never even know was available. Even if the data we seek is not accessible online, our preparation for archival research is more thorough, making the actual visits much more eff ective.


T ere is, however, a darker side to this environment. Easy access to data combined with the ready availability of


technologies facilitated by online


distribution make illegal duplication of copyrighted material, both intellectual and physical, all too simple. T e sheer vastness of the scope of material open to online access also breeds a belief that everything should be freely available and, thus, lowers the threshold for appreciating the necessity and signifi cance of copyright for the development and distribution of new ideas and objects.


Exactly two years ago I wrote and published an editorial addressing this issue. T e Nautical Research Guild shortly thereaſt er also issued a strong statement of policy against piracy, which it also published on the modelshipworld.com website. I know that none of us involved in this process were so naïve as to think that such action would stop piracy, but the problem is of suffi cient gravity that it is incumbent on the Guild and its Journal to make strong eff orts to educate people about it.


Piracy has serious impacts. Authors who devote years to researching and writing their books, draſt ers who meticulously research and prepare the plans we use for our models, innovators who develop tools and fi xtures that ease or expedite our projects, designers who create the ever-expanding selection of kits we enjoy, all suff er when pirates come along and, without doing any of the work these individuals undertook to make these things for us, duplicate it and, because they stole the creators’ labor, sell it cheaply, destroying the fi nancial benefi ts these creative people deserve.


T e pace of piracy has not diminished signifi cantly. In some parts of the world, the pirating of books has reached the point that, quite oſt en, pirate editions appear on booksellers’ shelves before the actual publishers can ship their products and is leading publishing fi rms to quit the business entirely. Many kit designers and manufacturers are reluctant to release anything but very limited information about their current projects for the same reason. T is can cause them diffi culties; quite a few of the better regarded manufacturers appreciate the value of presenting prototypes so that experts on the subjects can give feedback on the accuracy of their work. Fear of having their work stolen inhibits this and results in potentially less accurate kits.


T e fundamental point about successful piracy, however, is not the pirates’ ease of access to other people’s property but the willingness of thousands of people to buy goods or services they have stolen. Every time one of us buys a pirated item, our short- term excitement over a bargain hastens the demise of innovation, the creators lose and so, ultimately, do we. While such a buyer is unlikely to face legal consequences, I and the Guild board urge everyone to think carefully about the long-term ramifi cations of purchasing pirated goods.


Editor—Paul E. Fontenoy


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