<nettime> 6th century hactivist

["James Allan" <jamesallan@hotmail.com>]

In 6th century Ireland the possession of a book was understood to be
absolute ownership. Once, St. Columba, after borrowing a manuscript spent
the night copying it. He returned the original but not the copy. When the
owner also demanded the copy it was refused. The matter was brought to
trial and ended with Dermitt's famous verdict: "To every cow it's calf, to
every book it's copy." 

(Does a biological approach to copies differ from a technological
(mechanical) approach?  Is this about the authorization of products or
their distribution? And who cashes the cheque?) 

I'm not sure if this helps but the story's interesting..... 

James


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