The rivalrous parts of non-rivalrous digital forms | Martin Paul Eve | Professor of Literature, Technology and Publishing

"Digital texts are often considered non-rivalrous. The dissemination of a digital text involves the first copy being produced (note the terminology here: even the first version is referred to as the first 'copy') and it can then be replicated without the original copy being destroyed or lost by the original owner.

Books and printed matter are not generally considered non-rivalrous since, even though the content inside can be copied and replicated, the actual means of transmission involve losing the original printed version.

Yet, I have been thinking about this. In the digital world, what does it mean to 'produce a copy' and what are the material rivalrous underpinnings of that process?"