The paper is intended to stimulate discussion and the author welcomes comments. Digital encoding consists of transforming a work into a long sequence of bits, so that it can be stored on computer-readable media, manipulated by computers, and transmitted through data networks. Although this transformation is conceptually simple, and has been demonstrated in laboratories for many years, commercial implementation poses significant technical challenges, primarily because of the extreme length of the bit-sequences required unless sophisticated compression algorithms are developed and applied. Digital encoding is a very significant development because it allows copies to be made inexpensively and with no loss of quality. These two points are critical, so they are worth repeating.
Similar comparisons apply to graphics and music.
A copy of a digitally encoded work is identical to the original, unless some special hardware features exist that force a degradation. But copies of multi-media works are not likely to be subject to this sort of degradation on purpose, so, once appropriate hardware exists, anyone will be able to make an identical copy of the work. Compare this to the quite obvious degradation that occurs when copying video tapes, especially those encoded in the popular VHS format. It is this particular feature which makes the question posed in the title of this paper interesting. It is well-known that individual words are not subject to copyright protection, so anyone can legally reuse the words found in any text.