There is a growing problem on the Internet with people infringing on the intellectual property rights of their rightful owners. The copying of such property goes back some time, starting in the 1500’s, and has continued until today. Lots of people do not care about rules on the Internet, doing whatever they wish to do, or they just do not care. There are numerous solutions to this problem; some of them involving increased monitoring of the Internet. The illegal downloading and distribution of copyrighted materials on the Internet should be more closely monitored and punished by the government, ensuring that the intellectual property rights of their owners are not violated. There is a long history of intellectual property rights, as it was “Johannes Gutenberg's printing press, developed around 1450, that made books quickly available at a reasonable cost”, that made writers begin to worry about their books being distributed without their permission., and therefore they would not make the profits from usual sales (Cushman). Fast forward some years, to the late twentieth century, when a “two-part invention, the computer and the Internet, had a similar impact as the printing press”, enabling people to simply copy and share files, as on the Internet all forms of media are composed of binary code, ensuring that all electronic devices can read them (Cushman). To help protect these copyrights, the World Intellectual Property Organization was created in 1967 by NATO to replace the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property which was an agency that was created to observe the Berne Convention which is an international agreement to recognize patents. The problem of intellectual property theft on the Intern... ... middle of paper ... ...itical Economy of Intellectual Property." SIRS Issues researcher. N.p., Jan. 2003. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. cgi-bin/ hst-article-display?id=SMN0129-0-1703&artno=0000166503&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=In tellectual%20property%20rights&title=The%20Political%20Economy%20of%20Intellectua l%20Property&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N>. Recording Industry Association of America. "Scope of the Problem." RIAA. RIAA, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. physicalpiracy.php?content_selector=piracy-online-scope-of-the-problem>. World Intellectual Property Organization. "The Impact of the Internet on Intellectual Property Law." World Intellectual Property Organization. World Intellectual Property Organization, n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. .
The evolution of the Internet into a mainstream resource has provided its users with access to whatever their hearts desire, often at no cost. Such free access has instilled in the minds of users that they are entitled to possess all that they may obtain, without regard to those from whom they are taking. Causing the damages to our economy and society on a global scale, and challenges to the current state of copyright law, resulting from the growth and advancement of digital technology, which has created a pandemic of apathy among an entire population of users toward the interests of copyright owners.
Internet-based file-sharing systems are gaining popularity, and consequently the sharing of copyrighted materials has become rampant. Fueled by server-based systems such as FreeDrive and peer-to-peer systems such as Napster, copyrighted materials are being propagated all over the Internet, and while shutting down such systems seems to answer some of these problems, it is in no way a complete solution. By examining these file-sharing systems and the legal issues that envelope them, more appropriate regulatory means may be discovered.
Intellectual property (IP) contributes a great deal to economies. Dozens of industries rely on the ample enforcement of their patents and copyrights, while consumers use it to ensure they are purchasing secure, guaranteed products. IP rights are worth to be protected both locally and overseas. Protection of IP is a non-partisan issue where these rights are embraced by all sectors of industry, consumer groups, labor organizations, and other trade associations we bring together.
Protection from theft demonstrates that internet censorship can work for society in certain capacities. Through electronic mediums, individual users can be targeted by criminals seeking to steal their finances or identities. Information technology is particularly vulnerable when it ...
Copyright protection has no single theory that fully justifies its existence, nor can it. No two authors are the same and as such they are all motivated and incentivised in different ways; any justification for copyright in Anglo-American jurisprudence must be multifaceted to be able to fully justify the use of copyright. This essay will first explore the economic incentive theory for copyright, praising its effectiveness in commercial areas but ultimately finding that, especially in the age of the internet, it is lacking as a singular justification for copyright. The natural theories of labour and expression will then be examined in light of the gaps left by the incentive theory; it will be discussed how well both theories, especially expression, work in the private sphere. All three theories will then be examined together with regard to modern society and its needs for copyright protection and this essay will conclude that no single theory could fully justify copyright due to the wide variation of authors that require its protection, instead a collection of theories is most appropriate and effective in fully justifying copyright.
Over the past decade the societal view of creative society has greatly changed due to advances in computer technology and the Internet. In 1995, aware of the beginning of this change, two authors wrote articles in Wired Magazine expressing diametrically opposed views on how this technological change would take form, and how it would affect copyright law. In the article "The Emperor's Clothes Still Fit Just Fine" Lance Rose hypothesized that the criminal nature of copyright infringement would prevent it from developing into a socially acceptable practice. Thus, he wrote, we would not need to revise copyright law to prevent copyright infringement. In another article, Entitled "Intellectual Value", Esther Dyson presented a completely different view of the copyright issue. She based many her arguments on the belief that mainstream copyright infringement would proliferate in the following years, causing a radical revision of American ideas and laws towards intellectual property. What has happened since then? Who was right? This paper analyzes the situation then and now, with the knowledge that these trends are still in a state of transformation. As new software and hardware innovations make it easier to create, copy, alter, and disseminate original digital content, this discussion will be come even more critical.
The Internet is undoubtedly one of the greatest innovations of the past hundred years. The Internet provides a means for people all over the world to share information readily and rapidly. Like all technological innovations, the Internet has provided a better means for information to be exchanged. The down side of this is that the Internet can be used to transmit illegal information more easily.
Because of its intangible nature, and particularly the increase of the digital domain and the internet as a whole, computers and cyber piracy make it easier for people to steal many forms of intellectual property. Due to this major threat, intellectual property rights owners’ should take every single measure to protect their rights. Unless these rights are either sold, exchanged, transferred, or appropriately licensed for use in exchange for a monetary fee, they should be protected at all cost. In order to protect these rights, the federal and states governments have passed numerous laws and statutes to protect intellectual property from misappropriation and infringement. “The source of federal copyright and patent law originates with the Copyright and Patent ...
As can be seen, from the information presented, the need for laws and restrictions concerning internet data collection is greatly needed. Moreover, the government can search private citizens data without warrant or cause. Also, companies are not only collecting internet user data but also selling it. The companies and agencies who commit such crimes should be fined or either closed down. In closing, the privacy and security of individuals on the internet should be upheld by the United States government.
- Ploman, Edward W, and Clark Hamilton, L, Copyright: Intellectual Property in the Information Age, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London 1980.
Today, society is affected by the many advances in technology. These advances affect almost every person in the world. One of the prevalent advances in technology was the invention and mass use of the Internet. Today more than ever, people around the world use the Internet to support their personal and business tasks on a daily basis. The Internet is a portal into vast amounts of information concerning almost every aspect of life including education, business, politics, entertainment, social networking, and world security. (idebate.com) Although the Internet has become a key resource in developing the world, the mass use of Internet has highlighted a major problem, privacy and the protection of individual, corporate, and even government security . The argument over whether or not the Internet should be controlled by the government has developed into a controversial issue in almost every country in the world.
In our advancing digital information age, there is an arising problem with preventing piracy at the same time protecting consumer privacy. It is very easy to make copies of copyrighted content and get away with it. At the same time advances in software technologies monitoring web surfer’s activities has pose issues with consumers as to securing personal information and ensuring privacy. Software technologies to provide privacy protection has not been advancing rapidly instead stronger regulations mandate privacy protection. It’s all based on policies or legal agreements.
The WIPO copyright treaty completely changed the international copyright lawmaking environment for two reasons. First, it was in the 1996 Diplomatic conference that one begins to see the most widespread explicit discussion of the concept of “balance” being integral to international instruments. Indeed, this led to recognition of that concept in the preamble to the treaty. Of course, the importance of balance in the international copyright system had been discussed before 1996. For example, the Stockholm revision of the Berne Convention in 1967 clearly sought to reflect a new balance that more explicitly recognized the concerns of developing countries about access to copyrighted
At the dawn of the internet, many things such as books and text became obsolete, due to insufficient monitoring of internet activity and sites. Individuals were able to gain free access to books and publications that normally needed to be bought, or required a fee. This is something that has caused problems for booksellers and publishers. Now, as technology advances, it also begins the decline of music, software, and television industries—but something can be done before it’s too late. Illegal downloading is a problem that affects us all, either directly or indirectly. Many people do not take it too seriously. They have not realized that it is an epidemic; like a disease that keeps growing as people become more knowledgeable about computers and learn more about how software runs. People openly burn music CDs and download music and movies for friends who in turn give it to their friends; it’s a never-ending cycle on illegal practices. The problem started when Napster came out and should have ended when it was shutdown. Unfortunately, not enough has been done to stop the illegal transfer of files. It’s time someone takes full action and ends this detrimental offense.
The first reason why downloading and uploading copyrighted materials from the Internet should be legal is that downloading copyrighted materials positively affects the economy. The European Commission Joint Research Center reported that the profits of music companies would be 2% lower if uploading and downloading copyrighted materials were banned. However, music companies are able to acquire more profits despite illegal downloading because many people tend to purchase CDs or DVDs after watching or listening to copyrighted materials for free. Moreover, the research showed that people who download music illegally spent more money to buy music than people who did not download illegally. In addition, research conducted by the Swiss government informed that one-third of Swiss people downloaded copyrighted materials from the Internet because personal use of copyrighted materials is legal in Switzerland. Even though there is a fact that many people can download copyrighted materials from the Internet legally in Switzerland, the amount of money that people spend to buy copyrighted materials is not f...