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Category: Technology Author : Duncan Riley Posted: August 22, 2008
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On Which Side Will Intellectual Property Laws Fall?


On the one side, we have the incessantly aggressive tactics of the RIAA, and the seemingly endless copyright extensions granted by U.S. lawmakers. On the other side, we have those defending Fair Use, like the EFF. The U.S. is obviously at a tipping point for intellectual property law. Which side will prevail?

Jeff Nolan at Venture Chronicles notes the inconsistencies; a judge refused to dismiss the case against Universal that claims the company issued an improper DMCA claim for a video of a toddler dancing to a Prince song at the same time that companies like DirecTV are adding DRM to lock programming down to a single box for viewing.

As more and more individuals start to fight back against some of the Draconian enforcement of intellectual property laws, however, Fair Use and public domain may win in the end. A small discovery noted nine years ago by a disgruntled former Disney employee may put an end to the endless copyright extensions driven by the Walt Disney Company‘s protection of Mickey Mouse‘s copyright. While only the older “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse would enter the public domain if the evidence shows that Disney’s ownership of the copyright is questionable, it would still be a symbolic victory for a country whose intellectual property laws are some of the most convoluted in the world.











Comments


2 Archived Responses to “ On Which Side Will Intellectual Property Laws Fall? ”

  1. gregorylent
    Aug 23, 2008

    one of the memes growing out of both social media and ubiquitous hyper-connectivity is being called collective consciousness, or group consciousness, group mind.

    this is not a new concept, it is very old … mystic traditions say that there is only one mind, and we can say that technology is revealing it.

    in such a perceived reality the very idea of intellectual property has no basis. and in fact, eastern cultures did not invent this term, it was invented by the west, primarily as a means of protection.

    arguments have been made that it is needed so that there is incentive for innovation, which is a joke, looking at open-source, linux, etc … nothing is more natural and more unstoppable than innovation.

    i predict these laws will not last, because they will be superseded by a higher understanding of reality. given time, the question is moot.

  2. perilla
    Aug 23, 2008

    Gregory,

    An important reason for IP laws and IPRs is to not protect for sake of protection but to recognize, be aware and give credit to the person whose intellectual work resulted in a such and such “property.”

    The idea of IP s exactly the same as normal property. How would one feel if one couldnt build a home and lciam its ownership? This is how we felt back in communistic times.

    Not to have IP laws and regulations is therefore equivalent to defining virtual communist on the Internet.

    I believe however I do udnerstand the reason you raise this point. Majority of IP current laws have been conceived before the advent of digital age and Internet and thus do not address or consider well or at all current realities. For this, I also think that IPs must consider current realities and especially open source products and innovation steming from it.

    However, entire or even partial abolishment of IP laws will lead to online chaos. Notice, I didnt mention nor implied any commercial concerns, which are outstanding for many businesses.