“I don’t know if I should buy the album. I just like that one song. It would such a waste of money to buy the album for that particular song.”
Many of us have come across this scenario, whether we are the ones who face the dilemma or have a friend who fits the shoes. Movies, music and TV shows are a part of our lives that most of us cannot live without. However, if we were to attempt to catch every movie ever released and buy every album that ever sold, we would most probably have to be one of the richest people in the world. And since most of us do not fit in that category, we seek other solutions that will fulfill our desires.
The laws of copyright, and the ideas of copyright infringement, are significant in our society. Copyright revolves around the idea that the creative creator of a particular concept receives exclusive rights for that concept. (Copyright, 2007) Copyright credits the artist for the originality and creativity of his work. Without the laws of copyright, artist would not feel motivated to share their innovations. This is mainly because the creators would not receive their due recognition. Original work will not be credited and copies will be not only easily attainable, but almost worthless.
The situation in Today’s society is that people have fallen into the habit of not crediting the artists/creators who have worked hard to produce quality work. Whether it is duplicating movies or pirating songs or photocopying books, it has become a situation of ‘no big deal’ to these people. I do believe that the reason for this is not because people do not want to show their appreciation, but mainly because they are able to do so. There are peer-to-peer (P2P) sites that allow people to share music easily. There are MP3 players and CD- burners that allow us to rip music without a second’s thought. It is not like people have to search very hard to get a certain song or watch movies online for free. The sources are already there. People are just making use of them. The current market of technology suits copyright infringement. It makes it easy for people to pirate things and make illegal copies of them. How can the consumers be blamed for making use of what is available to them?
In the Information Age that we live in, almost everything is possible. We have access to all sorts of technology and innovations, and that makes it easy for us to take advantage of it. Peer-to-peer technology have “lowered the threshold of knowledge needed to acquire massive amounts of information”. (Copyright Infringement, 2007) Although these P2P file sharing technology have allowed people to share information, people have also misused the networks to distribute infringed materials.
There are copyright laws in effect right now. The problem is the ambiguous nature of the laws. The laws cover certain aspects of the rights of both the creators and the consumers. However, people are not extensively aware of the dire consequences of pirating information. People do not feel a twinge of guilt about ripping music or downloading movies from the internet. Some people have the notion that since the material is found on the internet, it is available for all to use. According to Kevin Brady, unless the owner has given up the rights for the material, it is still illegal to make a copy of the material. (2004) People have still harbor many misconceptions regarding copyright laws. In that sense, it is necessary for consumers to be educated about the rights they have for purchasing a product.
This task is not going to be easy. It might be impossible to satisfy everybody. Consumers do not want to have to pay enormous amounts of money to purchase a movie or a song. As of 2004, music label records have brought more than 4000 lawsuits against music fans. And the number is still rising. (von Lohmann, 2004) Creators are fighting for their rights. Consumers are fighting for theirs. So who is right?
There is something that we have to realize. There is a distinct possibility that each one of us have the chance of innovating something unique. When that time comes, we would want to be credited and appreciated for it. Would we want others to ‘steal’ what belongs to us? How can we have double standards?
Does what belong to me belong to everybody else?
Resources
Brady, K. (2007). Copyright FAQ: 25 Common Myths and Misconceptions. Retrieved January 31, 2007, from http://users.goldengate.net/~kbrady/copyright.html
Copyright. (2007, February 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:04, February 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Copyright&oldid=105127757
Copyright infringement of software. (2007, February 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:05, February 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Copyright_infringement_of_software&oldid=105189076
von Lohmann, F. (2004) Is Suing Your Customers a Good Idea? Retrieved February 1, 2007, from http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1095434496352
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