1. Definitions
2. Background
3. How has copyright been compromised in order to accommodate
society’s needs for access to information?
4. How does copying technology change the ability to protect
copyright (from the printing press to the Xerox machine to
the Internet?)
5. Given this significant change in the technologies, what’s
the point of trying to maintain pretence of protecting copyright?
Why are efforts made to enforce it?
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1. Defintions
copyright: the protection of “intellectual property”
- think of copyright as a monopoly, but we agree to this
kind of monopoly because the benefits to society (supposedly)
outweigh the costs:
- Copyright ensures that new ideas get developed and rewarded
and then society will benefit from them.
ISSUE: Balance between our need for readily available access
to information with creators’ needs to be rewarded for
their work.
Defn: “Copyright grants the owners of the expression
of an idea the right to prevent anyone from making copies
of it, preparing derivative works, distributing the work,
performing it or displaying it without permission..”
- so (some) governments award “intellectual property
rights” to the developers of ideas….(not China)
- copyright also protects the integrity of the original—example
of the artist Michael Snow’s “Flight Stop”
at the Eaton Centre
- but in pre-electronic age, term property consistent
with the economic reality:
buy a House—own THAT house and no one else can own it.
- now that information can be digitized, it can be freed
from the concept of physical object....
- you can copy the original property without stealing the
original
2. Background:
Four kinds of "intellectual property":
copyright, trademarks (protect corporate logos), trade
secrets, and patents
--> the law comes into play ONLY when the work of the intellect
is fixed in some tangible form: "when an idea becomes
a thing."
Patents – granted for ideas that make things,
or that make things do things (e.g., better mouse trap)
patents began in a world of machines and chemical processes
(the substantial world); now into realm of thought—software
and algorithms used to be unpatentable. HOWEVER, software
the fastest growing patent category esp. in e-commerce:
(not the program code – that’s protected under copyright)
some examples of patents – One Click r on Amazon.com
(Gleik, The New York Times Magazine, March 12, 2000)
Result (according to Gleik) – each patent (good for
20 years) a “restraint on trade” – exclusive
rights conveyed by a patent translate into higher prices for
consumers…system is out of control…
What is included in copyright?
-books, articles (protected 50 years past author’s death**)
-photographs
-paintings, musical scores, dramas, fictional characters (e.g.,
Mickey Mouse)* (supposed to be in public domain by -004, but
U.S. passed law to extend property rights for another 20 years**)
-letters, memos
-computer databases
(**to be considered now in Canada, but being challenged by
U.S. lawyers)
3. How has copyright been compromised in order to accommodate
society’s needs for access to information?
You can reproduce parts of the contents of “intellectual
property” if:
- acknowledge the other person's idea *
(*if in a university, don’t do this you are charged
with plagiarism – or stealing of intellectual property.
Penalized….)
-operate within Canadian Copyright Act (or “fair
dealing”)
Principles of “fair dealing”:
-the use is not for profit or commercial use (private study,
research, etc.)
-the use is a portion of the original
-the impact of the use on the potential market for the original
work is not significant
4. How does copying technology change the ability to protect
copyright (from the printing press to the Xerox machine to
the Internet?)
copyright on books easier to enforce in era of printing
press:
- few printing presses
-difficult to hide
-took time, labour and expense to produce a bootleg book
-who would distribute them? sell them?
with VCR, xerox and tape recorder, enforcement of copyright
made more difficult:
xerox:
- machines costly, labour involved
-quality of copy deteriorated
So production of original works still profitable
BUT with networks:
- transmitted instantly
-little cost (once hardware and network set up)
-little risk of detection
-no one to ensure the original hasn’t been tampered with
5. Given this significant change in the technologies, what’s
the point of trying to maintain pretence of protecting copyright?
Why are efforts made to enforce it?
because
1) it’s still in the interests of the original artists
to get some money.
BUT MOSTLY because:
2) it is economically very profitable for large corporations
who OWN copyright to insist on copyright
- e.g., software companies (e.g., Microsoft) – vs. Linux
(“open source” fear expressed by one programmer)
Given the economic reasons for “owners” of copyright
to enforce their rights, what solutions are proposed?
- One solution—Lehman proposals in U.S.
Any information alighting for any length of time in your computer
is subject to copyright enforcement (unless the owner specifically
gives up her ownership)
Implications??