Kopimism
Kopimism
Kopimism
Kopimism is based on a few basic axioms, which in turn can be traced back to our strong defense of the intrinsic value of information, We ascribe this value to all information irrespective of its content. Since information and its intrinsic value are so sacred, Kopimists recognize the following axioms:
Copying of information is ethically right.
Dissemination of information is ethically right.
Copymixing (copying and/or remixing) is a sacred kind of copying, more so than the perfect digital copying, because it expands and enhances the existing wealth of information.
Copying or remixing information communicated by another person is seen as an act of respect and a strong expression of acceptance and Kopimistic faith.
The Internet is holy.
Code is law.
You do not need to change anything when becoming a kopimist. Stay believing in whatever you believe in, whether it is in God, Jesus, Moses, Muhammad or anyone else. We are not a religion that provides "all" the morality a person needs. Your morals come from you and/or whatever God you believe in.
Philosophy
Copying is a sacred activity. Copying accurate knowledge, in a variety of formats, for the purposes of education helps the world. My ideal future is one where I own a library of all the books ever written that anyone, poor or rich, can access at the push of a button for no cost.
It is important to note that, I personally believe that knowledge is sacred. The ability to reproduce the information one possesses is sacred.
Copying of information is ethically right.
Dissemination of information is ethically right.
Copymixing (copying and/or remixing) is a sacred kind of copying, more so than the perfect digital copying, because it expands and enhances the existing wealth of information.
Copying or remixing information communicated by another person is seen as an act of respect and a strong expression of acceptance and Kopimistic faith.
The Internet is holy.
Code is law.
You do not need to change anything when becoming a kopimist. Stay believing in whatever you believe in, whether it is in God, Jesus, Moses, Muhammad or anyone else. We are not a religion that provides "all" the morality a person needs. Your morals come from you and/or whatever God you believe in.
Philosophy
Copying is a sacred activity. Copying accurate knowledge, in a variety of formats, for the purposes of education helps the world. My ideal future is one where I own a library of all the books ever written that anyone, poor or rich, can access at the push of a button for no cost.
It is important to note that, I personally believe that knowledge is sacred. The ability to reproduce the information one possesses is sacred.
Contents at a Glance
If you are thinking of joining the temple/church, you should read our values, as well as the first half of the Constitution in whatever language you prefer. If you agree with the mission of the temple/church and the values we hold sacred, you can immediately start calling yourself a Kopimist! If you would like to formalize your membership with the temple/church, first you should copy one of the Kopimi pyramid images from http://www.kopimi.com/ and then register with us using the form
Worship through meditation is sufficient to be considered part of the Kopimist community. A person who identifies with our philosophy, whether formally registered with the Temple/Church of Kopimism or not, is considered a Kopimist.
Kopimism is based on a few basic axioms, which in turn can be traced back to our strong defense of the intrinsic value of information, We ascribe this value to all information irrespective of its content. Since information and its intrinsic value are so sacred, Kopimists recognize the following axioms:
Copying of information is ethically right.
Dissemination of information is ethically right.
Copymixing (copying and/or remixing) is a sacred kind of copying, more so than the perfect digital copying, because it expands and enhances the existing wealth of information.
Copying or remixing information communicated by another person is seen as an act of respect and a strong expression of acceptance and Kopimistic faith.
The Internet is holy.
Code is law.
You do not need to change anything when becoming a kopimist. Stay believing in whatever you believe in, whether it is in God, Jesus, Moses, Muhammad or anyone else. We are not a religion that provides "all" the morality a person needs. Your morals come from you and/or whatever God you believe in.
Philosophy
Copying is a sacred activity. Copying accurate knowledge, in a variety of formats, for the purposes of education helps the world. My ideal future is one where I own a library of all the books ever written that anyone, poor or rich, can access at the push of a button for no cost.
It is important to note that, I personally believe that knowledge is sacred. The ability to reproduce the information one possesses is sacred.
Kopimism is a religion, one might even define it as a cause. Like most religions, Kopimism is against stealing. With respect to information, Kopimism disagrees with many copyright holders usage of the word "stealing". We wish for the creators of content to receive due credit for the information they create, as is done in academia. We also believe that creators and owners of content have the right to sell their content.
Kopimists are interested in everyone's sacred right to reproduce and distribute information. Copyrighted content, or patents, conflict with these beliefs. These legal instruments, when applied to content or invention, insist that information, digital or tangible, cannot be copied or distributed respectively.
Our issue with content owners occurs once a copy of the content is distributed to the user. We believe that this copy, once in the users possession, belongs to the user and that the user can copy and distribute this information at his or her discretion (with due credit where credit applies). An example of this would be a recipe in a cook book. Say there is a cook book for sale at a book store and someone sees a recipe on page 8. Kopimists believe that the reader of the book does not need to get permission from the author of the book to give this recipe to a friend. Furthermore, if my grandmother has an old family recipe that is exactly the same as a recipe on page 11 in the same book, a kopimist does not believe my grandmother would be guilty of copyright/patent infringement.
Kopimism also takes issue with many things that are copyrighted. We do not believe that the number one can be copyrighted, or the number two, ad nauseum. Most people inherently believe the same about all numbers, or even mathematics, when presented to them in this way. This Kopimist belief causes issue with owners of digital content. All digital content, i.e., mp3s, pdf's, avi's, etc, exist on a computer as a single integer. You could give me a digital copy of any file such as an mp3 of Mozart's Cello Sonata in D Major performed by Yo Yo Ma, and I could show you a single number, in a text editor or on paper, that would be considered protected by the copyright holder of Yo Yo Ma's music. Any digital file can be converted back and forth to its corresponding integer. Furthermore there are many integers, hundreds of thousands, that your computer would read as Yo Yo Ma's music.
In short, many digital content owners believe that a number can be owned. Even though Kopimists believe that information, i.e., personal information, can be keep secret and that authors have the right to sell the books they write, we fundamentally disagree that this type of (digital) ownership can be held over the integers.
Worship through meditation is sufficient to be considered part of the Kopimist community. A person who identifies with our philosophy, whether formally registered with the Temple/Church of Kopimism or not, is considered a Kopimist.
Kopimism is based on a few basic axioms, which in turn can be traced back to our strong defense of the intrinsic value of information, We ascribe this value to all information irrespective of its content. Since information and its intrinsic value are so sacred, Kopimists recognize the following axioms:
Copying of information is ethically right.
Dissemination of information is ethically right.
Copymixing (copying and/or remixing) is a sacred kind of copying, more so than the perfect digital copying, because it expands and enhances the existing wealth of information.
Copying or remixing information communicated by another person is seen as an act of respect and a strong expression of acceptance and Kopimistic faith.
The Internet is holy.
Code is law.
You do not need to change anything when becoming a kopimist. Stay believing in whatever you believe in, whether it is in God, Jesus, Moses, Muhammad or anyone else. We are not a religion that provides "all" the morality a person needs. Your morals come from you and/or whatever God you believe in.
Philosophy
Copying is a sacred activity. Copying accurate knowledge, in a variety of formats, for the purposes of education helps the world. My ideal future is one where I own a library of all the books ever written that anyone, poor or rich, can access at the push of a button for no cost.
It is important to note that, I personally believe that knowledge is sacred. The ability to reproduce the information one possesses is sacred.
Kopimism is a religion, one might even define it as a cause. Like most religions, Kopimism is against stealing. With respect to information, Kopimism disagrees with many copyright holders usage of the word "stealing". We wish for the creators of content to receive due credit for the information they create, as is done in academia. We also believe that creators and owners of content have the right to sell their content.
Kopimists are interested in everyone's sacred right to reproduce and distribute information. Copyrighted content, or patents, conflict with these beliefs. These legal instruments, when applied to content or invention, insist that information, digital or tangible, cannot be copied or distributed respectively.
Our issue with content owners occurs once a copy of the content is distributed to the user. We believe that this copy, once in the users possession, belongs to the user and that the user can copy and distribute this information at his or her discretion (with due credit where credit applies). An example of this would be a recipe in a cook book. Say there is a cook book for sale at a book store and someone sees a recipe on page 8. Kopimists believe that the reader of the book does not need to get permission from the author of the book to give this recipe to a friend. Furthermore, if my grandmother has an old family recipe that is exactly the same as a recipe on page 11 in the same book, a kopimist does not believe my grandmother would be guilty of copyright/patent infringement.
Kopimism also takes issue with many things that are copyrighted. We do not believe that the number one can be copyrighted, or the number two, ad nauseum. Most people inherently believe the same about all numbers, or even mathematics, when presented to them in this way. This Kopimist belief causes issue with owners of digital content. All digital content, i.e., mp3s, pdf's, avi's, etc, exist on a computer as a single integer. You could give me a digital copy of any file such as an mp3 of Mozart's Cello Sonata in D Major performed by Yo Yo Ma, and I could show you a single number, in a text editor or on paper, that would be considered protected by the copyright holder of Yo Yo Ma's music. Any digital file can be converted back and forth to its corresponding integer. Furthermore there are many integers, hundreds of thousands, that your computer would read as Yo Yo Ma's music.
In short, many digital content owners believe that a number can be owned. Even though Kopimists believe that information, i.e., personal information, can be keep secret and that authors have the right to sell the books they write, we fundamentally disagree that this type of (digital) ownership can be held over the integers.
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