USA Today had this story on the copyright wars. Reduced to its roots, we have been dealing with this for a very long time, and it may never end. How many of us have seen someone make a photocopy of an entire book, thus breaking copyright, but never say anything.
\” Internet sites want users to be able to swap songs and discuss content online the same way they share compact discs and books. But record companies and publishers say widespread dissemination of works they own would cut into the $40 billion a year music business and $7 billion in annual movie ticket sales, and would discourage artists from creating new works.\”
USA Today had this story on the copyright wars. Reduced to its roots, we have been dealing with this for a very long time, and it may never end. How many of us have seen someone make a photocopy of an entire book, thus breaking copyright, but never say anything.
\” Internet sites want users to be able to swap songs and discuss content online the same way they share compact discs and books. But record companies and publishers say widespread dissemination of works they own would cut into the $40 billion a year music business and $7 billion in annual movie ticket sales, and would discourage artists from creating new works.\”
\”What we have today is a nuclear bomb,\’\’ said Bernard Sorkin, senior counsel at Time Warner. Content owners fear \’\’the ability to distribute those works through the world at the click of a mouse.\”
\”The agencies aim to identify legislation or new rules needed to adapt copyright law, which covers duplication and distribution of creative works, to new technology.\”
\”Specifically, officials are examining whether to apply existing practices to all digital works and whether to let customers make an archival copy, said Marybeth Peters, register of copyrights.\”
For instance, when a woman buys a book, under the so-called first-sale doctrine, she can keep it, sell it, or give it away.\”
\”Advocates want similar rights to apply to a digital book sent over the Internet and fear publishers will restrict the book to one user or even a single online reading using encryption or contract.\”
\’\’The record company has no right to limit a consumer\’s resale or reuse,\’\’ said Jonathan Potter, chief executive of the Digital Media Association, which represents companies such as Real Networks, Amazon.com and Launch Media.\”
\”Potter\’s group argues that when Web sites play music, the temporary copy of the songs in the computer\’s memory buffer should not be counted as a recording. Moreover, consumers should be able to make archival copies of songs in case their hard drive crashes.\”
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