Thoughts on Piracy and Intellectual Property
LAWRENCE LESSIG’S TED PRESENTATION
After watching and listening Mr. Lessig and finally pondering the problem of PIRACY from it’s birth, I am in agreement with the presenter as he shows light on the increasing disconnect between the law and digital culture. In his article in the Wired Magazine (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.03/lessig.html) he mentioned that the history of Hollywood, radio, Cable TV, and (of course) the music industry – all were born of a kind of piracy, if piracy meant using the creative property of others without their permission. The copyright regulations (renewed frequently by lawmakers!) threaten and obliterate creative expression from well meaning artists, according to this thoughtful cyberlawyer, who has published 2 books – The Future of Ideas, and Free Culture.
At the same time it is important to note that never before has it been easier and freer to devise and distribute original works of artists due to modern technological innovations – the example included in his presentation is very entertaining. There are so many creative productions by ‘artists’ of all ages on the web, and in my opinion the intellectual property issue in our time is going to be how to balance the rights of creators and consumers. As long as it does not deprive the original composer/creator any monetary compensation, ‘free-riding’ for the sake of creativity is okay!
