Internet Copyright Laws
A student comes home to his dorm at the University of Scranton after a rough day
of classes. With the quick internet connection provided on the school’s network, the
student makes a few clicks and logs into Morpheus, a program that enables music fans to
download free music. Within a few minutes he is on his way to owning an unlimited
amount of songs at no cost. Everything this student is doing is legal, right? Wrong. The
downloaded music from the internet is copyrighted material.
Today’s internet is considered an “information superhighway,” a device where
anything from music, books, programs and information can be shared worldwide. Since
billions of people have the ability to access the internet, the content of the internet can be
difficult to regulate. One controversy which has risen because people can transmit and
share information broadly via the internet is that of copyright infringement. Arguments
over the rights to property on the internet have been heated. For example, Napster
(similar to Morpheus) was sued for providing software that enabled internet users to
download music at no cost. Since the internet is a device that is used worldwide,
copyright laws should exist to protect people who own copyrights so their civil liberties
are not infringed upon.
Because the internet is sometimes considered unregulated, users often assume that
the law does not apply to its use. Widespread misuse of people’s intellectual property via
the internet occurs because of this belief, though anyone can access the internet. Since the
number of people who have the ability to access the internet is so high, laws that are
made to protect people’s publications in other media should also apply to protect them on
the internet.
Copyrights that protect products can sometimes be confusing to understand. The
simplest way to identify copyright infringement is to question if the copyright is handed
over with the product. For example, if a person owns a compact disc and lets a friend
borrow it, the compact disc i...
... middle of paper ...
...material is under copyright laws.
However, while in court, it was thought the publications could be of public domain. The
courts decided that the information was not an infringement and returned the confiscated
property to Wollershiem and Penny.
Copyright laws exist to protect the ownership of material. Where the material is
located should not void the copyright. If copying property is for personal use, than a
problem should not exist. If a person starts to make money or distribute the copied
material, then a problem with copyright laws will arise. In this case, the provider of the
material will be at fault.
With the arrival of the electronic age, the internet will be another place where
copyright laws are needed, and must be enforced; The internet cannot be free and
unregulated. Whether it is a tape in a stereo, or a religious hoax on the internet, copyright
laws must exist and be upheld to protect individuals from infringement of their property
rights.
Bibliography:
Knowledge and Identity in the Electronic Age. Richard Fearer; McGraw-Hill, 1998. 124 131.
Who owns digital works. Scientific American Publication. Ann Okerson; October 13, 2002. 37-41.
Abraham Lincoln became the United States ' 16th President in 1861, delivering the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy in 1863. If there is a part of the United States History that best characterizes it, is the interminable fight for the Civil Rights. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. "The Declaration of Independence states “All men are created equal”.
Before the 1990’s, if people want to listen to music, they just visit a music store and pick up a CD and then put it into a stereo equipment. However, the development of MP3 file format gradually changed the way people listen to music. This format lets everyone download music easily and it can be converted to CD as well. But, there is still a problem: searching MP3 files on the internet is maddening and people seldom can find the music they want. Therefore, the birth of Napster solved this problem, creating a virtual music community in which music fans could use the Web as a “swap meet” for music files. More importantly, Napster is easy to use and it’s free, which expands the range of audience in age. Bandwidth also contributed to Napster’s success. The greater the bandwidth, the faster the file can be transferred. So, Napster really changed the way people listen to music, discover music and interact with music.
“Anyone else who uses copyright material in those ways will infringe copyright unless they have permission from the copyright owner or a special exception applies. One act may result in the infringement of several copyrights” (Film & Copyright, 2012, p. ...
Anne Bradstreet is one of the most remembered American poets who lived during the ages of the 17th century. She faced many hurdles simply because she was a woman taking part of the Puritan law. The Puritans were an assembly of English Protestants that formed in the sixteenth century. The Puritans wanted to cleanse the church by shadowing powerful, stringent religious philosophies which they then earned the name Puritans. They presumed that they were God’s chosen people and that they are an admirable illustration for the rest of the world, attempting to create an exemplary for America. Bradstreet is one of the first notable poets to write English poetry in the American colonies. According to many authors that have studied and written about Bradstreet,
This copyright law was created In order to keep an artists work from being exploited and used, if you wish to use it you will need permission and perhaps will have to pay
My concerns about Internet censorship prompted me to write "Internet Censorship is Absurd and Unconstitutional." In the essay, I outline why I believe that the Internet should not be censored in any way for two reasons. First, any law advocating censorship of the Internet is too broad and unenforceable on this global information medium. Second, Internet censorship is a breach of First Amendment rights for those users residing in the United States. The essay will provide insight into why self regulation is the only viable solution to the problems that have and will be presented to the Internet.
Most of the Internet regulation is imposed by the Government in an effort to protect the best interest of the general public and is concerned with some form of censorship.
Physical piracy-the copying and illegal sale of hard-copy CDs, videotapes, and DVDs-costs the music industry over $4 billion a year worldwide and the movie industry more than $3.5 billion. These numbers do not factor in the growing (and difficult to measure) problem of Internet piracy, in which music and movies are transferred to digital format and copies are made of the resulting computer file. Journalist Charles C. Mann explains why Internet piracy has the potential to be vastly more damaging to copyright industr...
With the popularity of the Internet, sales for CDs, DVDs, Movies, and many other products have increased. Along with the increase of sales has brought forth an ever increasing problem of illegal media being downloaded. Programs such as Bittorent, Kazaa, and other direct-connect networking programs have allowed the transferring of such illegal media. Downloading song files from the Internet over a free peer to peer network is the moral equivalent of shoplifting music CDs from the local mall.
The Internet provides a gateway for an individual to speak freely and anonymously without being targeted to what he or she said. With this said, one of the biggest issues concerning the Internet today is freedom of speech. The issue of free speech on the Internet has been a topic of discussion around the world within the past years. It is a unique communication medium and is powerful than the traditional media[2]. Because the Internet can not be compared equally to other mediums of communication, it deserves the utmost freedom of speech protection from the government. The restriction of speech on the Internet takes away from individual's rights and freedom from experiencing the Internet's benefits and uses. Information found on the Internet is endless and boundless and this poses the question, "should the government be allowed to regulate the information and content being transmitted or posted online?"
In 2012 the United Nations released a report declaring the internet access as a human right (United Nations, 2012). The way people use the internet today across the world makes it an extraordinary force. We can see its
Moreover, hackers came up with new ways to remove the digital copyrights so the same as before one downloads music and distributes them around. The industry gets its revenue from selling this content, whether it’s online or in stores, this funds new projects and allows for better products in the future. The public should be aware of this, downloading the content for free, and not buying it will decrease revenue for the companies, stopping them from undertaking future projects. “Production companies should lower the price on their products, I can’t buy music for at least 20$ per album and DVDs for 30$, I only make 200$ per month,” said George Issa, a music fan who spends most of his nights downloading music from the internet, “when there is an album or movie that I really like, I try to buy it legally, I don’t think I am doing anything wrong, they are wrong making money off our backs,” he added.
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...
...e songs for free? With things like music, these rules of copyright are seldom followed. Many times, music is not distributed with the artist’s permission. The artist’s song, or even album, will often get leaked on a website before the actual album or song gets released by the artist. It connects back to one of the issues with the Internet when it comes to copyright infringement. Often times, people will try to alter the voice, beat, or tempo of a song to protect themselves from a lawsuit for copyright infringement. This can be risky, however, because artists may try and argue how the song lyrics are still theirs, even if the beat is altered slightly. Music downloaders like iTunes are better at protecting the rights of artists, because they require listeners to purchase the music they want to listen to. This helps out a lot when lawsuits could very much get involved.