... Geoffrey and questionable legal thinking, too.

If someone publishes a book and offers it for sale in a store, does that mean any other person can just copy and use it for commercial purposes?

Or if someone takes a photograph and offers it for sale at retail, can someone else then copy that photograph and use for commercial purposes?

I think not in both cases. The law governing the internet is unsettled in some respects. But, copying and using the creative work of another is a violation of copyright laws, even if the work is published on the internet.

As for the scanning of a chip to offer for sale, that is not a violation of copyright laws if the only purpose of the scan is to display the object being sold so that a potential purchaser can see it. Such use would fall under the "fair use" exception to copyright violations.

Even if the use of someone's scan is not a copyright violation because the scan itself is not subject to copyright laws (some are, some are not, depends on exactly what is scanned), it is little short of theft for someone to take the labor of another and put it to his own use. And if not theft, it is certainly unethical.

And it's no answer at all to say, in effect, "if you don't want your stuff stolen, don't leave it where someone can steal it". Would you say, "If you don't want your car stolen, don't park it on the street." I think not.

----- jim o\-S