Posted on 01/05/2005 6:52:34 PM PST by quidnunc
Well, one concern I do have is that some of the security measures that CD makers are using rob me, the paying customer, of full use of the product.
For example, I've loaded my CDs (all paid for) on my computer and listen via my Windows music player.
I cannot, however, listen to one CD, because it was designed to not work on a computer CD player...
Yes, I presume this may listen piracy some amount, but it also makes me far more wary of buying other CDs too...
listen = lesson
Placemarker
If John Adams and James Madison were alive today, they surely would marvel at how swiftly information can be exchanged via the Internet. But they also would be alarmed, I believe, to see ordinary citizens using this extraordinary technology in growing numbers to shoplift copyrighted intellectual property. The Founders possessed, after all, a keen understanding of the threat this type of theft poses to a free society.
Property rights are not a novel concept. After some deliberation, our constitutional Framers signaled how important it was to protect intellectual property by instilling the concept in our nation's charter in Article 1, Section 8, with a provision authorizing Congress to "promote the progress of science and the useful arts."
So deeply did the Framers, in their founding document, embrace the concept of "progress" advanced through devotion to intellectual labor, that they mention it 24 separate times in the Federalist Papers.
As John Adams warned, "The moment an idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence." I fear that moment has come.
IT'S THEFT
If thousands of books were stolen from libraries in a single day, school and library officials would immediately put heavy-duty security systems into place. Department store owners, by the same token, would hardly sit still if thieves were making off with armfuls of expensive clothing and jewelry.
Yet many otherwise law-abiding citizens appear to think there's nothing wrong with doing essentially the same thing when it comes to intellectual property. As if stealing isn't stealing if you can do it with a computer in the comfort of your home or office.
The truth is, there is no difference between shoplifting a DVD from a store and illegally downloading a copyrighted movie from KaZaa. Stealing intellectual property is just as wrong as the theft of "real" property.
And the vast majority of people use so-called "peer-to-peer" file-sharing networks such as KaZaa, Morpheus and Grokster to download music and movies illegally. An overwhelming percentage of the 500 million files being "shared" at any given time are copyright protected and thus owned by someone else.
Despite all the warning advertisements and the movie trailers, as well as new legal methods to download music and movies (such as you find at I-tunes or CinemaNow), wholesale thievery is still taking place. A whopping 4 million users still partake in this dirty little game every day. So what is the victimized industry to do?
CRACKING DOWN
The movie industry recently took a bold new step to change the "so what" attitudes of so many. By initiating lawsuits against individuals stealing movies online, as well as revving up their public persuasion campaign, movie studios are taking a stand and making the message crystal clear: Stealing is stealing, and it must stop.
The cultural and economic value of creative films is undeniable. Today, the copyright industries are one of America's largest and fastest growing economic assets. They account for more than 5 percent of our gross domestic product, pouring $535 billion into the U.S. economy. The film industry alone provides 580,000 well-paying jobs.
But this awesome engine of economic growth is threatened by the explosive growth of high-tech petty theft. Smith Barney estimates that if something is not done, movie industry losses will exceed a whopping $5.4 billion by 2005.
If James Madison was right -- that "government is instituted to protect property of every sort," if this objective is "the end of government," and "that alone is a just government which impartially secures to every man whatever is his own" -- then these movie studios are just doing what any potential theft victim would do.
They are protecting property that is rightfully theirs.
Edwin Meese III, a former U.S. attorney general, is a fellow in public policy at The Heritage Foundation and chairman of its Center for Legal and Judicial Studies.
Then there is the whole 'fair use' and 'parody' constitution clauses.
Ahh, the irony.
Thank you for posting the full version.
I'd image they'd be more alarmed as to how copyright protection went from 14 years plus 14 year renewal to "life of author" plus 70 years.
I thank Mr Meese for his service to the country, but his grasp of intellectual property issues in the cyber age is tenuous at best.
lessen =)
LOL. That's the spirit.
By legal definition, copyright infringement is not equal to theft (yet).
In the parable of the loaves and fishes, the food was miraculously multiplied, just like songs and programs are today.
Copyright is a fickle. capricious law, varying from one civilized country to another civilized country, ever subject to change by corrupt politicians in the pockets of K Street lobbyists serving the industry and never the starving artists! What is the length of a copyright now? It useda be 26 years, or something like that, now it's 70 years or perhaps perpetuity. The concept of intellectual property is perfectly sound and acceptable to all, Mr Ex-Attorney General, but in practice it has been utterly corrupted by our corrupted political system!
DOH!
Darn almost homonyms. (and yes I did spell check that one)
Exactly. A theft deprives the owner of use. Copyright infringement does not deprive the owner of the material the use thereof.
Actually, there's nothing miraculous about it.
Like Humphry Bogart in Casablanca, you have been misinformed.
Fair use is not applicable to Free Republic.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.