Tuesday, November 06, 2007
The Public Domain Opinion
The Public Domain, an article written by Lawrence Lessig discusses the differences between public domain and private domain in current times. He points out that a shift is occurring through stricter copyright laws that will allow for the privatization of material more easily by its owners. He believes that the emergence of new technologies has enabled the stealing and distribution of work in the private domain to be spread in the public domain. In one part of his article he says the following.....
"In response, code writers (both legislators and technologists) have created an unprecedented array of weapons (both legal and technical) to wage war on the pirates and restore control to the owners of culture. Yet the control these weapons will produce is far greater than anything we have seen in our past. "
He believes that their must be a balance between public and private domain and that these new copyright technologies will shift that balance. Lessig, a Professor of law at Stanford University is using his knowledge about current copyright laws and past ones to draw the conclusion that these tighter laws will bring about a more rigid society in which sharing is lost and instead self riches extremists, as he calls them will kill the notion of public domain or sharing materials or acquired knowledge for the benefit of the public.
I think that he is right in a sense that the government should not get caught up in a war against piracy. What they may be doing is hurting society by allowing others to privatize every piece of material they see fit. In some cases for material gain or the acquisition of wealth. though he does not directly raise the point of copyrighting ideas or materials for financial purposes. I kind of feel like that is the direction in which he is going in. For example, what if someone found a cure for AIDS, but chose to distribute it at a higher price. because of the tightening of copyright laws the public would have to pay whatever that person wanted. Just something for everyone out there to keep in mind.
"In response, code writers (both legislators and technologists) have created an unprecedented array of weapons (both legal and technical) to wage war on the pirates and restore control to the owners of culture. Yet the control these weapons will produce is far greater than anything we have seen in our past. "
He believes that their must be a balance between public and private domain and that these new copyright technologies will shift that balance. Lessig, a Professor of law at Stanford University is using his knowledge about current copyright laws and past ones to draw the conclusion that these tighter laws will bring about a more rigid society in which sharing is lost and instead self riches extremists, as he calls them will kill the notion of public domain or sharing materials or acquired knowledge for the benefit of the public.
I think that he is right in a sense that the government should not get caught up in a war against piracy. What they may be doing is hurting society by allowing others to privatize every piece of material they see fit. In some cases for material gain or the acquisition of wealth. though he does not directly raise the point of copyrighting ideas or materials for financial purposes. I kind of feel like that is the direction in which he is going in. For example, what if someone found a cure for AIDS, but chose to distribute it at a higher price. because of the tightening of copyright laws the public would have to pay whatever that person wanted. Just something for everyone out there to keep in mind.
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Government has long been in the business of protecting property rights? Why should it stop now? Protecting "sharing" and freedom of expression is not as important in a market society according to most conservative economists.
Lessig is trying to preserve a space for creative exchange on an internet that is increasingly privatized. It will be a tough fight.
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Lessig is trying to preserve a space for creative exchange on an internet that is increasingly privatized. It will be a tough fight.
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