The impact of emerging technologies (VCRs, Tapes, ect.) lead to congress passing the Copyright Act of 1976 which opened the definition up to a more broad and open-ended interpretation of what materials could be copyrighted. Two requirements for copyrighting material are:
1.the work must be original
2.the work must be fixed in “any tangible medium of expression”
Under these new definitions any thing created can be copyrighted. The doodle you make in the margin of your note book is considered a original fixed work. Materials under copyright would remain outside the public domain for 50 years after the authors death. After that time the works would enter into the public domain and be used by anyone.
In 1998 Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA) and the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. This was an attempt to update the copyright law for the digital age and extend the term to life of the author plus 70 years and even greater length of time for corporate authorship. The DCMA criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to bypass Digital Rights Management (DRM) software in order to access copyrighted material, whether or not there is actual copyright infringement. DRM software is being used widely by content distributes and is potentially more evasive then current copyright laws. Basically it restricts the user of the content from using technology that they rightfully own. For instance if you own a 5.1 digital surround sound speaker system DRM content can shut off the 5.1 surround sound feature and out put the sound in stereo.
Check out more about DRM at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/ and read about the new FCC ruling in the Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704370704575228681559263628-lMyQjAxMTAwMDAwOTEwNDkyWj.html
The Pew Internet and american life project found that 74% of American adults (ages 18 and older) use the internet. In the age range of 18-29 that percentage jumps to 93%. The internet has become our virtual playground where we create our culture instead of passively participate in the culture provided by content distributors. This new playground is still mostly open for interpretation most of our previous laws are not equipped to handle the virtual real and those that have been created are rejected and ignored by the people creating their own culture. This kind of lawlessness is likened to the Wild West. Groups form and support each other using all the social and scholarly advantages the internet has to offer. These groups feeling the limitation created by a broad over reaching copyright law have come up with creative alternatives.
A few for thought:
Open Source the practice of sharing and creating content that is free from copyright and licensing. Widely know in the software industry but is also found in the arts, music and academics.
Connexions cnx.org is an open source text book website. Watch Richard Baraniuk's presentation on Open Source Learning at TED Talk.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/richard_baraniuk_on_open_source_learning.html
Wikipedia is a great example of open source, it is essentially living knowledge that doesn't wait for publishers or special interest groups to approve it's content. Information can be add or removed by scholars who contribute. Each change is recorded with in the page and can be traced to see the evolution of the content. This openness to me allows for a wider understanding in a particular subject regardless of class, religion, sex or race and it is available to all for free. Go and explore and instead of just reading the page click on the tabs at the top and see the process of user generated content.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#Licensing.2C_transfer_and_assignment
Libraries have long been an access point for the public to copyrighted materials. However the new Copyright Laws established in the DCMA have caused considerable difficulties in the process of providing digital copies to their patrons. Once the hurdles of copyright are jumped there is still the problem of digitizing the books. The digitization process serves two purposes to preserve the book in digital form and to grant access to a new generation of technology user who demand digital access. The Google Book project has understood this demand and is currently digitizing a million books in 10 years, of course if the can settle the law suit against them.
"At the University of Michigan, we were digitizing all of our own books faster than any other research library," Bernard said. "But at the rate we were going, it would have taken us about 1,000 years. Google will do it in less than 10 years." http://www.startribune.com/business/93147534.html
And at last Creative Commons. A non-profit organization expanding the possible creative licenses that allow the creator to communicate more precisely what others can do with their material. http://creativecommons.org/
Create the copyright that is tailored to you by filling out the form at http://creativecommons.org/choose/
http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/
Nina Paley is a cartoonist based in San Francisco, she is the creator of feature length animation Sita Sings the Blues, Which she has published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License. Check out her animations below and visit her blog for more.
Larry Lessig on laws that choke creativity at Ted Talk
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.html
Lessig talks about how we have become a read only culture and how the internet is allowing our children to become a read write culture again. That we should be finding ways to open up content for a generation that doesn't watch content it creates content. The copyright laws have turned information into a commodity that can not be shared or experienced freely. The younger generation is an active participant in their culture and old media sees their acts as an invasion of pirates, whether they create for the fun of it or for money. Freedom of expression and the right to participate in culture should be protected in a democracy, not hindered by corporate goals.
Lessig book Remix: Making Art and commerce thrive in a hybrid economy is available for free download if you want to read more...
Remix Culture
Remix Culture
A remix from Lessig's TED talk:
Jonathan McIntosh creator of the blog rebellious pixels and the following remixes.
RiP: A remix manifesto, Brett Gaylor's documentary about remix culture and dealing with copyright in the digital information age. A must watch!!!
RiP: A remix manifesto, Brett Gaylor's documentary about remix culture and dealing with copyright in the digital information age. A must watch!!!
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