How I Killed A Startup In 4 Hours (And Why I Don’t Regret It)
[Philip Lelyveld comment:A website killed because its business model is predicated on copyright infringement. Is this an outlier, or a recognition of the value of creative individuals' work - or at least current IP law? The writer claims the later.]
Personalpaper.me, which launched last Thursday, promised something that, on the face of it sounded pretty great: throw the site a few URLs and it would print out those long articles you’d never get to on Instapaper or Pocket, package them up as a beautifully designed physical newspaper, and drop that paper in the mail to you — all for the equivalent of about $2 per “issue.”
This product, created by developers at the agency responsible for viral hit game Monument Valley, even, audaciously, offered to strip out ads to create a clean, readable format you could stick in your handbag and read on the subway.
You’ve probably spotted the problem already: personalpaper.me represents copyright infringement, unauthorised republication and illicit distribution on an industrial scale. In other words, its entire business model is predicated on theft.
See the full story here: http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/28/how-i-killed-a-startup-in-4-hours-and-why-i-dont-regret-it/?ncid=tcdaily