2009/1/16 WJhonson@aol.com:
You are copying the formula. You are not stealing the item itself. There is quite a difference, sigh or no sigh.
Okey so you consider copying images different to copying formulas? The endpoint of your argument would be that if someone takes a PD image and converts it into SVG it is okey to copy it but if they put it in a raster format it isn't.
Or perhaps you think chemicals are magically different. If the formula is a DNA string I can literally drop it into a machine that will pretty much print it out.
Still another option for people who make money of PD work are the companies that take advantage of the 50 year rule on recorded music in the UK.