I think that the biggest observation I could make from all of this SOPA/PIPA/CISPA/SEGA/NAMBLA/PETA/ETC business is that people have long forgotten the fundamental purpose for copyright. It isn't to ensure that the owner or creator (9/10 times they are different people) gets paid for their creation, or to stop people from stealing/copying that creation; it's motivation to get people to create in the first place! Copyright exists as a way to get people to keep coming up with new ideas, and it should only last as long as it takes for a creator to come up with something else to copyright.
That a copyright can last after that creator dies is then an obvious waste and a perversion of this principal; after all, you can't motivate a corpse to come up with new ideas. In fact, that a copyright can last a person's whole life decreases possible motivation; because, if you can get paid your whole life for one good idea, why bother making up another one? And that copyrights last so long only restricts further ideas from being made due to the limiting effect of the fear of being sued for breaching copyright. It's hard to romantically maximize what someone else already owns now-a-days without a C&D or subpoena.
As for pirates, I like to think of them as a kick-in-the-butt to content creators and distributors. Just owning something anymore is not enough to sell it; now you actually have to make it worth something. We are quickly becoming a post-scarcity market, in terms of information; and with that means everything becomes a whole lot less valuable. So either copyright owners have to adapt to new technology and practices, as the pirates have done so well; or they can do their damnedest to halt the progress of technology which is bad for both the overall human condition, and PR. If someone can get something for free, stopping them from doing so doesn't win you any fans. Pirates mean that you just have to try harder to convince people to not get it for free. Post-scarcity should be seen as a trial to overcome, because it is not one that people can afford to ignore; and the people benefiting from it will not let it be smouldered out.
Now, finally getting to SOPA/PIPA/CISPA/ Cooper Draper Pryce. It's bad, mm'kay. SOPA/PIPA/CISPA and Robin is not regulation, it is domination. It is a way for big business and copyright holders to choke progress in order to keep from changing and having to adapt to shifting paradigms (to use their execu-speak.) I mean, it's easy to see why they would support a bill like this. The companies that do are in the money-making business, in order to do that effectively you want to maximize profits by minimizing work; and the best way to minimize work is to do something once and sell it forever. Because most of these companies hardly bother to make things anymore, instead preferring to buy the IP from others and sit on it, they would have it really good if they could just continue sitting on their gluttonous bums and getting paid to do so. But as I said, it is this sedentary attitude which restricts what people can accomplish with technology, and what people will bother to create in the first place. Also, the wording of SOPA/PIPA/CISPA/Shemp is so general it gives the copyright holders way too much abuseable power in order to charge ludicrous fines on people for things that don't even break copyright. These bills gives too much power to people who don't want people to have their own.
This is why the SOPA/PIPA/CISPA/ Peter, Paul and Mary protests were and are so important. We have to show the corporations and the government that we are tired of having our money taken for granted. We have found cheaper alternatives to buying their crap, and we are going to take them unless they can make it more convenient to do otherwise.
No comments:
Post a Comment