This is a really cool piece of information about the Library of Alexandria:

By decree of Ptolemy III of Egypt, all visitors to the city were required to surrender all books and scrolls in their possession; these writings were then swiftly copied by official scribes. The originals were put into the Library, and the copies were delivered to the previous owners. While encroaching on the rights of the traveler or merchant, it also helped to create a reservoir of books in the relatively new city.

See, back then, it used to be cool. But now people get sued for that kind of shit. File-sharing is really no different from what they’re describing here…