The right to copy

[doG]

It doesn't matter if a billion people break the law it doesn't make it right or make the law obsolete....

[Mr Skeptic]

The laws of copyright are becoming increasingly meaningless in today's world. So what should the governments of the world do? What do you think they can do? Why do you believe an inconsequential copyright law is the start and end of the issue?

 

I think that "open source" knowledge will mostly replace proprietary knowledge, if for no other reason than that it is more convenient. Projects like Wikipedia can only get better. The more time and people involved, the better. Proprietary knowledge, on the other hand, requires that people get permission before using it, and fixing mistakes in it is much more cumbersome. I think that within about 20 years, we will have free textbooks that rival or surpass the quality of proprietary textbooks in all subjects. Soon, nearly all general knowledge will be free for everyone. Copyright will probably still be around for more specific knowledge and entertainment, but its role will be largely reduced.

 

All that completely separate from the fact that copyright infringement is illegal even if you can almost certainly get away with it. If by "meaningless" you mean that it will be unenforced, that is not very likely.

 

It doesn't matter if a billion people break the law it doesn't make it right or make the law obsolete....

 

Actually, if a law is usually unenforced, it runs the risk of being struck down. The government is not allowed to selectively enforce laws, so if most everyone who does something illegal gets ignored, the government can no longer use that law against specific individuals.

[doG]

Actually, if a law is usually unenforced, it runs the risk of being struck down. The government is not allowed to selectively enforce laws, so if most everyone who does something illegal gets ignored, the government can no longer use that law against specific individuals.

 

Copyright law is not unenforced though. It is just reaching a point where the government cannot keep up with the enforcement. Technology has enabled copyright violation at a rate far beyond what the courts can keep up with.

[swansont]

OK, so there's this law says I'm "not allowed" to do it. But what's stopping me, apart from feelings of guilt, but let's say I overlook them because there's lots of financial profit to look forward to?

 

Not a whole lot. But how is that different from most other laws we have on the books? Laws are there to punish you after-the-fact. They tend not to deter people who are intent on breaking them

[Fred56]

Ah hah, yes, of course, how obvious. Intention, and intent to commit an act.

 

So let's say the act is about as difficult as making a phone call, or getting a computer in the Bahamas to make a phone call. In other words, sure, it was a good idea back when books cost money to publish (still does), whole factories of people. Now you can have a library and you don't need to "put" it anywhere, because it's already there.

[doG]

So let's say the act is about as difficult as making a phone call, or getting a computer in the Bahamas to make a phone call. In other words, sure, it was a good idea back when books cost money to publish (still does), whole factories of people. Now you can have a library and you don't need to "put" it anywhere, because it's already there.

 

It still doesn't change the law, not in its meaning or intent. Now matter how easy it becomes to commit the crime it is still a crime until the law is changed.

 

Copyright law is not unenforced though. It is just reaching a point where the government cannot keep up with the enforcement. Technology has enabled copyright violation at a rate far beyond what the courts can keep up with.

 

Apparently Congress has noticed this...

 

Congress' copyright reform: seize computers' date=' boost penalties, spend money[/url']

 

A bipartisan group of Congressmen (and one woman) yesterday introduced a major bill aimed at boosting US intellectual property laws and the penalties that go along with them. While much of the legislation targets industrial counterfeiting and knockoff drugs, it also allows the government to seize people's computers.

 

The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO IP... groan) Act of 2007 has the backing of many of the most powerful politicians on the House Judiciary Committee, including John Conyers (D-MI), Lamar Smith (R-TX), and "Hollywood" Howard Berman (D-CA).

 

In addition to strengthening both civil and criminal penalties for copyright and trademark infringement, the big development here is the proposed creation of the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER). This is a new executive branch office tasked with coordinating IP enforcement at the national and international level. To do this work internationally, the bill also authorizes US intellectual property officers to be sent to other countries in order to assist with crackdowns there. In addition, the Department of Justice gets additional funding and a new unit to help prosecute IP crimes. ....

[Fred56]

Sure, but protecting the profits of pharmaceuticals corporations should be their problem, why is it yours? Or is it a case of a clash of technology, so eventually some new balance between protecting business interests and art IP has to find some new level of exchange. What the point I was aiming at, wasn't so much how it's illegal and why, but what exactly the solution to the apparent ease with which modern tech. allows the "ripping-off" in the first place.

 

Times have changed since the days of the printing press, which arguably is where the notion of ownership of documents or photographs or letters extends to. So the whole entertainment industry and the idea of copy right, i.e. to ownership of of an original version, to which the notion, especially of any copies of this first, original 'copy', are made. Its intended meaning in law extends to this right to copy, to make copies. Unfortunately, this is extremely simple nowadays (it wasn't when printing presses, or even writing tablets were invented), but it used to be much harder, a lot more effort. Today, you could probably scan Michaelangelo's David and reproduce an exact man-size replica for the patio. (I'm not kidding)