Monday, January 16, 2006
Copyright Battles Heat Up Abroad
byCopyright law is a dinosaur; or maybe, calling it a BetaMax would be more appropriate. Like the ill-fated video tape format, intellectual property law had its place in history, but it simply doesn’t work with current technology anymore. Recent battles over implementation of copyright laws in France and Canada illustrate the need to rethink issues of content ownership.
For most of human history, the idea that a person could own a story, song, picture or idea was inconceivable. But Gutenberg’s development of movable type printing in 1448 created a market for books and printed materials, and printers wanted their investments protected.
The advent of desktop publishing, the Internet and digital data formats have completely changed the information landscape. The result has been a scramble by recording, movie and software industries to shore up their control of information by lobbying for America-style copyright law.
The problem is that American copyright law isn’t working well, and it probably only continues to function because of inertia. The only solution seems to be a whole new approach to intellectual property. Unfortunately, the lobbying of special interests in the political process may prevent us from reaching that brass ring any time soon.
