QotW3: Signed, Sealed, and Pirated.

“Put an end to piracy.” pleaded Hollywood, through its anti-piracy campaign launched in 2003. (BBC News, 2003) When content piracy reaches a state of rampancy intense enough to worry this billion dollar generating motion picture industry, we know it deserves attention. Figures show that the “total loss of the audio visual industry through copyright theft… is more than £818 million.” (PiracyIsACrime.com) What, exactly, is causing such extensive piracy?

Some might wonder if copyright laws are too ill-defined to protect content creators of their right to their creations. On the contrary, copyright laws seem specific enough to offer the creators adequate protection. Copyright gives creators “exclusive rights to their creations for a limited time,” (Ovalle, 2005) including the right to authorize reproduction and public performance or display of their creations. Copyright also allows creators to “benefit financially from their creations, which should provide an incentive for them to continue creating.” (Ovalle, 2005)

Far from the common misconception that “copyright is a law invented by publishers solely to serve their own financial interests (and)… the convenience of scholars,” (Givler, 2003) copyright exists not only for the creators’ benefit, but also, “for the public good.” (Givler, 2003) Because the copyright laws encourage creators to work for the “progress science and useful arts,” (Ovalle, 2005) and their creations will belong in the public domain once the limited time stated by law is over, we are the ones who stand to gain from these laws in the long run.

In this sense, copyright laws protect the rights of both the content creators as well as the public. It balances the interests of both parties, and is undoubtedly sufficient to ensure the fair use of intellectual property. This brings us back to the old question: what, then, can be causing such extensive piracy? I would think that the problem lies not in the law itself, but in the people under the law. The public in general are lacking in two areas which are essential pillars of support for the copyright laws.

The first would be a clear understanding of what copyright is and why it exists. With Attorney Kevin S. Brady’s list of common copyright myths and misconceptions running as long as 25 items, it is hard not to notice how little the general public knows about copyright. Researches conducted on educators showed that “many educators lack the basic understanding of the copyright law and the actual latitudes it provides (for them)." (Chase) If the educators are unsure of how copyright works, be rest assured that almost everyone else are too. Schools are where people first come to learn of concepts like intellectual property and plagiarism. If the teachers themselves are unsure of these laws, there is no way they can teach their students right regarding this topic. Without knowing exactly what copyright is, it is no wonder that many believe copyright to be a law that protects content creators at the public’s expense. (Givler, 2003) Such misconceptions would only lead to copyright infringements; after all, who would obey rules that undermine their personal rights?

The second which the public lacks is social integrity. When interviewed, a 26-year-old business student in Berlin confessed that he “has burned 700 to 800 CD’s… with downloaded songs,” (Landler, 2003) and still “don’t feel like (he is) infringing on the artists.” (Landler, 2003) “Whether Robbie Williams makes 15 million or 12 million a year doesn’t matter to me, honestly speaking,” he said, referring to the British pop star whose songs are repeatedly downloaded from the net. This student is not the only one who expressed apathy towards content creators. Charles W. Moore provided an unsound justification for piracy in his online article, claiming that piracy is “perceived as a victimless crime… (because) if someone copies a song… the copyright-holder is no worse off materially than he or she was prior to the piracy.” (Moore, 2003) Such indifference towards the plight of the content creators veils the need to reward content creators, and thus of course, causes people to disregard piracy as an act of impertinence. People need to know that the content creators deserve rewards as incentives for future creations, before they would succumb to obeying the copyright laws.

Before the public gains a clear understanding of copyright and uses copyrighted content with integrity, the best defined set of laws will not keep piracy out of our world. Thus, even though the present copyright laws are well-scripted enough to supposedly offer adequate protection for the rights of both the public and the content creators, the public needs to be educated more regarding these laws before piracy can be curbed.

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References:
BBC News. (2003, July 22). Hollywood Launches Anti-Piracy Campaign. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3085875.stm

Brady, Kevin S. Copyright FAQ: 25 Common Myths and Misconceptions. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://users.goldengate.net/~kbrady/copyright.html

Chase, Mark E. Educators' Attitudes and Related Copyright Issues in Education: A Review of Selected Research 1980-1992. Retrieved February, 2007, from http://www.ifla.org/documents/infopol/copyright/cham.txt

Givler, Peter. (2003, May 9). Copyright: It’s For the Public Good. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://aaupnet.org/aboutup/copyright.html

Landler, Mark. (2003). The New York Times: U.S Is Only the Tip of Pirated Music Iceberg. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://msl1.mit.edu/furdlog/docs/nytimes/2003-09-26_nytimes_global_piracy.pdf

Moore, Charles W. (2003, August 8). Is Music Piracy Stealing? Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://www.applelinks.com/mooresviews/pirate.shtml

Ovalle, Carlos. (2005). Why Copyright? Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://sentra.ischool.utexas.edu/~i312co/2.php

PiracyIsACrime.com. DVD Piracy – The Big Picture. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://www.piracyisacrime.com/bigissue/piracy.php