Dear John, What you say about the conventionality of property rights is correct, first articulated by Rousseau. What I had in mind was to go a step further. If OUP is actually asserting a right over that foundational text in substantial quotations---as I say, I'm still a little fuzzy on what exactly OUP is asserting, since I got into the discussion late---then we as scholars who supply OUP with manuscripts and demand their books should mount a boycott. If the OUP action is as bloodyminded as I imagine, then bloddymindedness in reply is in order, I suppose. But maybe it's not so bad as I imagine. In any case we have the option of simply refusing to pay. Regards, Deirdre McCloskey