I believe strongly - near-absolutely - in freedom of speech.
However (and I appreciate that there is a potential tension here) I do not believe in a near-absolute right to nick the speech of others. Or the expression of others, or intellectual property, or copyright, or whatever you want to call it.
That is why I view the ongoing arguments about Google Books with such interest, and recommend that one reads the single-page response from the catchily named Initiative for a Competitive Online MarketPlace to the growing policy discussion about how to respond to Google's approach to copyright.
ICOMP's position is admirably restrained and academic in its expression, but you might get an understanding of the problem from a single line:
"unauthorised scanning of European works by Google continues unabated."
Hmm.
