Does Copyright Need To Change?
The concept of copyright, that is, the right of the author to control their work, whether for economic or other reasons, has been around for a very long time. But it has always engendered some controversy. Controversy did not spring up fresh as a result of the internet. However, what is different now versus at any other time in copyright history, is that the average person is now part of the debate.
I do not believe the internet has changed anything fundamental to copyright. But the internet and digital technology has changed the amount of information in its original form that is available to every single person in the world, and it has changed the ability of any individual person to copy that material. That is a change of huge magnitude, one that has brought the word copyright and its basic concepts into the consciousness of millions of people who previously would have viewed it a “legalese” that was barely relevant to them.
As a result, the debate on the concept of copyright itself has taken on new life. On one side, we have large media outlets who are pushing for longer protection terms, greater penalties, more restrictions on the technological ability to copy material. On another side, we have intellectuals and developers who push for fewer protections in all those areas ( a list of some of the major thinkers on this side is here). On another side we have the individuals authors, who are mostly not in a position to argue anything. And on yet another side, we have consumers, who just want to know what they can do and hope that it turns out to be reasonably easy to understand.
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