Name Brittany Murphy Class
time: 11 am
Author: Sara Baase
Date of Publication: 2013
Book: The Book of Fire
Sections read:4.1-4.3
1. (Questioning) After reading this chapter/article
what relevant questions do I have?
What is a way that copyright
laws can become more effective and clearer to the public?
2. (Knowledge)Tell three interesting elements of
this chapter:
a. Copyright
has been an issue in the forefront since the printing press.
b. The Fair Use
doctrine governs copyright laws.
c. The Fair Use act causes a great deal of
confusion in the area of intellectual infringement.
3. (Comprehension) Summarize what is being
discussed within this chapter?
The advancement of
technology has brought raised the issue of copyright infringement dramatically.
Before, it was challenging to copy the works of others, and often times for
expensive that just purchasing it. With the advent of recording technology, P2P
networks, broadband internet and servers that allow. Another issue is there is general apathy among Internet users for copyright laws, as demonstrated by the video below.
4. (Connections) How does one element in this
article specifically relate to Postman (or at times I will ask you to compare
to a different article read in class- edit as appropriate)?
Postman argued that all technological change is a trade off, and that is emphasized in Chapter 4 by Baase. New technology allows for users to take their media with them, often for a nominal fee. Also, there is now a plethora of free media available for purchase. Yet with that, money is being taken from the artists. The artists also receive some benefits also, for example their music is able to reach a larger audience and perhaps generate more tickets sales than they would have seen before.
5. (Application)
Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar
situation in society or that you have experienced – be specific and explain?
Itunes came up with a wonderful way to allow people to create playlists and download single tracks easily while only paying a nominal fee per song. This helped in the aspect it created a legal outlet for people to still download what they like. According to a recent study an estimate 70% of people age 12-14 are choosing legal ways to download their music.
According to the above chart, music sales raised in 2008 due to legal online alternative downloads, demonstrating that legal download methods are beneficial.
6. (Analysis) Compare one of the situations in this
chapter/reading to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or
the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas
NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading?
Illegal file downloads are equivalent to stealing from a store. When a person does not pay for a song or for a software, they are taking the money from the designer or artist and from the marketplace. Being that the United States is a market-driven economy, taking money out of the market and still receiving a good will drive the market down. A market driven economy is inherently profit driven, and consequently if the profit is take away, there will be no reason to produce the good. As Baase said "the value of intellectual and artistic works comes from creativity, ideas, research, skill, labor". These efforts need to be rewarded or else the reason to publish will be gone.
7. (Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree
with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS,
reference)?
Absolutely there is a need for people to be more aware of the copyright laws and there needs to be a way to enforce them. Money is being take from the artists I discussed here:
Also, as Baase pointed out, there are further issues than copyright issues, for example the purchasing of search words to provide advertisements when these words are searched. This proves to be an issue when companies buy words of other companies and prevent the from being displayed in search results. There is a case filed in 2009, Rosetta Stone vs Google that is still being tried today.
8. (Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge
whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Are there any ethical
considerations (see Chap1-1.4 for exp of Ethics)? What new
ideas will you make after reading this chapter/article?
As there are still approximately 26% of downloads coming from Limewire, on illegal file sharing site, the issue is prominent in society. It is crucial that people are aware of what they are downloading and from were; and with that who they are supporting. It is important to understand where your music is coming from. The topic of illegal downloads is relevant to today’s society as it is becoming increasingly more popular and is being closely watched by the Attorney General. Many colleges are also informing students that they will be punished if caught downloading music on their networks. Unfortunately it is expensive to regulate illegal downloads, as arresting and prosecuting individuals is costly. It is important to think of the consequences when copy software or downloading music or videos, if it is done illegally it is equivilent to stealing.
9. (Conclusion) After completing this assignment,
based on new thoughts and evidence
a. What new
conclusions have you come to about this topic ?
It is ethically irresponsible to download music files illegally. There is no difference from stealing an album from a store, or illegally downloading it from Limewire, the effects on the market are equivalent.
10. Below restate your questions from #1 and include
the answer based on your new
conclusions.
What is a way that copyright laws can become more effective and clearer to the public?
It would be helpful to the public if The Fair Use laws were utilized in a consistent and predictable manner. Baase wrote about the Sony case regarding taping of shows to watch at a later time; this case was ruled as legal. Then there was the Zediva case that rented DVDS to the public and sent them a digital copy, as opposed to a physical DVD. Zediva lost the case on the grounds that they could have the DVDs played publicly. Companies and the public alike need to be made aware of what the laws are and how they apply to their daily activities.
References:
Below, include any additional web reference that you include on your blog, including any websites or video.
Below, include any additional web reference that you include on your blog, including any websites or video.
