Why it matters that you can't own an electronic copy of the OED

From BoingBoing:

In Cory Doctorow's latest Guardian column, he talks about "the digital versions of the Oxford English Dictionary and the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, the two most important lexicographic references to the English language ... [he] was disturbed to learn that the digital editions of these books are only available as monthly rentals, services that come with expansive data-collecting policies and which cannot be owned.

"OUP – which has been selling dictionaries and thesauri since the 19th century – will not sell you a digital OED or HTOED. Not for any price.

"Instead, these books are rented by the month, accessed via the internet by logged-in users. If you stop paying, your access to these books is terminated.

"[He] mentioned this to some librarians at the American Library Association conference in Chicago this spring and they all said, effectively: 'Welcome to the club. This is what we have to put up with all the time.'"