Intellectual+Property+The+Internet

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==Created by Rasik Mehta

=Introduction:=

Advances in information and communication technologies have changed significantly in the ways by which business and pleasure interact with one another, both on a local and global scale. We are now living in an online world. The same effect the invention of the press machine had during its era likewise the effect nanotechnology will have on our future and the generations to come. The internet one could argue, has redefined life itself as emerging technologies tend to do so. The Internet represents a global information and communication resource for everybody, universally accessible from any point in an infinitely expandable network. Creating, publishing, distributing, using, and reusing information have become straightforward and quick processes especially within the past decade. This has become a concern within the past couple of years. The Internet is multi-jurisdictional - in other words, messages are able to travel from a network in Toronto to one in Japan in seconds, as long as there are computers with access to the internet. The Internet is not simply multi-jurisdictional; physical location, and physical boundaries, are irrelevant in this global communication network. It is therefore not surprising that some of the most controversial and challenging issues in intellectual property include application of the fundamental concepts of copyright, patent and trademark laws to subject matters created and in the digital environment. The concept of intellectual Property is so imperative to help protect ideas, that living in an age where information can be duplicated so easily has become a subject of debate from a legal and ethical stand point.

=Intellectual property:=

Intellectual property shares many of the same characteristics associated with real personal property. Intellectual property is an asset and as such, it can bought, sold, licensed, exchanged or given away similar to any other form of property. Further, the intellectual property owner has the right to prevent the unauthorized use or sale of the property. The most noticeable difference between intellectual property and other forms of property, however, is that intellectual property is intangible and is the result of creativity, i.e., “it cannot be defined or identified by its own physical parameters”.[usinfo.state.gov] There are four legal instruments to help protect intellectual property: Patents, Copyright, Trade Secret, and Trademarks.

=Digital Era & Content Industries=

Of all the industries that have been revolutionized by the rise of digital technology and the global Internet, few have been hit as fierce as the "content" industries -- the producers of music, movies, television programs, interactive software, books, and photos. The Internet has made global distribution of content as straightforward as possible, with the ultimate promise of diminishing costs by reducing the role of middlemen who produce, distribute, and sell the physical copies. Unfortunately, the digital era also has a serious downside for content producers; it has made it easier than ever for consumers to gain access to content without paying for it.

Before the digital era, the only means by which music could be owned entailed going to a retail store and purchasing it. But with todays technology, it seems as if anything digital is within a hands reach - better yet a mouse click away. There is no doubt that digital copying and transmission of intellectual property is on the brink of damaging the content industries. The recording industry has been hit the hardest thus far, because digital song files are so readily available and are small in size, allowing them to be transmitted instantly. Global sales of music fell about 8 percent in 2003 alone and have been on a steady increase, partly due to online piracy. (this doesn’t make sense…fell or increasing??) “Internet piracy remains a very significant factor in the decline in world music sales. Research by IFPI and numerous independent third parties overwhelmingly proves that unauthorized file-sharing translates directly into lost legitimate music retail sales” The peer-to-peer networks that allow individuals to download pirated material anonymously contain every conceivable kind of content: films, television programs and of course software. The worrying part of the problem is that this piracy is not a massive criminal conspiracy, but rather the collective actions of millions of otherwise law-abiding Internet users of all ages who have grown accustomed to the culture of free content that is the hallmark of the Internet. [[|http://www.dlc.org/documents/Digital_Copyright_1003.pdf]] Many people have a hard time distinguishing between the vast amount of music, video games, and other content available legitimately for free and the illegal pirated content. Accodring to the RIAA, “Under federal law, first-time offenders who commit copyright violations that include digital recordings can face criminal penalties of as much as five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.” This harsh penalty is not a reality for many people. There are too many people participating in this widespread downloading and piracy to punish everyone. The legal consequences are harsh, but so far are not seen as a deterrent to downloading. Also, most people are not aware of these laws.

This is not merely a battle between giant media conglomerates and a group of cyber-savvy kids who want to rethink copyright law. Widespread piracy over the Internet seriously harms the artists, both the famous and struggling, who create content. There are many different views on the legality of downloading music. Most recording companies, including the RIAA, agree that downloading is a direct copyright infringement and is illegal. There are currently three major copyright laws which are dealing with the legal/illegal issue. The Fair Use Laws states that people have rights to use copyrighted material in certain situations. Whether or not downloading music is fair use can be debated both ways. The Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 allowed people to make copies of music for personal use. This can be used if downloading music is for personal use and will only be used by one person. However, the argument against this is that the music being used is not owned by the person. Finally, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 allowed copyright owners to file lawsuits against those who break into secure websites that provide access to creative works. The copyright laws are not definitive in regards to the internet. The issues are constantly debated, with no stable conclusion. While the laws continued to be defined and courts are making decisions for or against internet music companies, the legal/illegal issue remains cloudy. Also in conjuncture with the copyright laws are the arguments against the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects citizens against government intrusion into what and how they speak, think, right, or act. Do the Copyright Laws place limits on these freedoms by telling people to pay for using creative material? While some may view this as an unacceptable argument, a valid point still exists. The laws may need to be modified in a constantly changing world with many new technologies. With the vast evolution of the digital age, it is difficult to use century old laws to solve problems only created in the last decade.

The Internet is nearly impossible to control or regulate. It will be interesting to see the new laws that will come about because of the music downloading phenomenon. While the music industry views downloading as illegal, copyright laws are not specific about this area. Music will continue to be downloaded until a major law is passed. Until then, there will only be consequences for the companies who run the peer to peer sharing websites. And although technology has made our lives much more convenient, one important negative aspect has arisen, everyday citizens are now faced with questions involving the delicacy of intellectual property law, questions they are unwary to answer. For example, the public are regularly finding themselves the opportunity as well as the means to access and copy vast amounts of digital information, including software, text, audio and video data, but there is no clear picture of what is legal or prohibited. Prior to the digital era, and the fact that we now live in a global village, where everything is easily accessible. Things such as music and videos were hard to come by, the technology might have been there but was still to expensive. And the fact that now even DVDS are becoming so cheap to produce, it is only a matter of time before the film industry joins the bandwagon to stop internet piracy, though regulations and laws. A second consequence of the emergence of the information infrastructure into everyday life is that individuals find themselves capable of duplicating immense amounts of information, in private, using everyday, privately owned equipment. A single individual can now do in private what once would have required substantial commercial equipment and perhaps criminal intent. An example of this is the newly introduced DVD Burners, which allow people to copy DVDs ranging from DVD movies to video games. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) states that it's illegal to crack the CSS copy-protection code employed by most commercial DVD movies. Although many advocates express that the policy directly contradicts U.S. copyright law, the DMCA however seems to point out that you cannot make a copy of a commercial DVD, even for personal use. Many people assume that “fair use will eventually catch up and be established as a safety valve for consumers (which has been the pattern with previous technologies, such as VHS), but for now, the territory is still uncertain and a bit dangerous.” [reviews.cnet.com]

=Conclusion=

Digital information has lead to the creation of new information products and services, which in turn will presumably require legal protection which is difficult to provide through traditional intellectual property laws. Digital information produce complicated issues regarding authorship, ownership, and the boundaries among copyright-protected works. The idea that the digital environment will cause significant and unpredictable consequences for content creators will continue to remain. Today's technological innovations present almost limitless opportunities for the worldwide distribution of copyrighted works. But these identical technologies make it possible for anybody to pirate information with a single keystroke. Intellectual property will surely survive the digital age. It is clear, however, that key adjustments will have to take place to ensure adequate protection for content creators and rights holders, thereby helping to promise that a widespread and diverse supply of IP is accessible to the public. =Bibliography=

//Britannica.// 2004. Available [Online]: < __[|http://www.britannica.com/]__ >

//Can you legally copy DVDs (cnet)// //.// 2004. Available [Online]: < http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3513-5128652.html> Simone Brown//. News this week: Copyshop////. 1996//. Available [Online]: <__[|http://ursu.uregina.ca/~carillon/feb8/n4.html]__>

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//Registered Designs Regulations.// 2003. Available [Online]: <__http://www.patent.gov.uk/design/legal/act.pdf__>

//History of Cd Technology//. 2004. Available [Online]: __< [|http://www.oneoffcd.com/info/historycd.cfm%3E__] //Motion Picture Association of America: Anti Piracy////.// 2004. Available [Online]: < __[|http://www.mpaa.org/anti-piracy/%3E__]

//International information programs////.// 2004. Available [Online]: < [|usinfo.state.gov] >

//Representing the recording industry worldwide.// 2004. Available [Online]: < http://www.ifpi.org/site-content/statistics/worldsales.html > The Music Industry and the Internet//.// 2004. Available [Online]: <__ [|http://www.uri.edu/personal/ktho5646/musicindustry.html] >__

//Progressive Policy Institute////.// 2004. Available [Online]: <[|http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=140&subsecID=289&c252304__%3E__] //World Intellectual Property Organization. 2003//. Available [Online]: <__ [|http://www.wipo.int/]__>

=Additional Resources: See also=


 * World Intellectual Property Organization
 * Tort Law & The Internet
 * Canadian Copyright Act
 * Jurisdiction