The Big Fat Copyright Thread

Started by Mr Cat Dog August 31st, 2011 5:33 AM
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  • 7 replies

Mr Cat Dog

Frasier says it best

Age 32
Male
London, UK
Seen September 29th, 2017
Posted July 12th, 2017
11,344 posts
19.1 Years
If there's one thing that binds the constituent parts of 'Culture & Media' together, it's the notion of copyright.

A copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to the creator of a cultural work for a limited period of time in exchange for public disclosure of the work. This includes the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. In most jurisdictions copyright arises upon fixation and does not need to be registered. Copyright owners have the exclusive right to exercise control over copying and other exploitation of the works for a specific period of time, after which the work is said to enter the public domain.

I think we’d all agree that a person who performs a task for someone pursuant to an agreement that they will be compensated is then entitled to be compensated, without respect to whether the task they’ve performed creates or improves some recognized property. If a musician is hired to play at an event, and then plays at the event, does not the person hiring them have an obligation to pay what was promised?
Of all the creative work produced by humans anywhere, a tiny fraction has continuing commercial value. For that tiny fraction, the copyright is a crucially important legal device.
Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet.
So, in relation to culture and media, what are people's thoughts on the notion of copyright (and its practical effect)?

(A gentle reminder to keep things civil. I don't want this turning into an OC-style flamefest. Also, I might pop in randomly and play devil's advocate with a few people... so watch out!)

Esper

California
Seen June 30th, 2018
Posted June 30th, 2018
Well, to start off I'll say what I think a lot of people feel: copyright laws are too restrictive.

Let's say I own a CD (and, whaddaya know, I do) and I like it and want to share it with a friend so I lend it to her. "I own the CD so it's mine to do with how I please," is how I think of it. I don't think there's anything wrong with sharing like that.

Now, if I did the same thing with mp3s of the very same album that somehow means I'm breaking copyright laws. Yes, we would both have copies of the music at the same time (which wouldn't be possible with a single CD), and can listen to the music independently, but it's not any different from just passing the CD back and forth which, as I've said, isn't anything bad in the first place.
Seen September 18th, 2020
Posted February 18th, 2018
7,741 posts
16.6 Years
I hold a few anti-copyright sentiments, personally, at least in its 'all rights reserved' form. It serves a decent purpose though, so mainly, I'd like to see copyright terms expire within generally shorter times* rather than changed. Many 'cultural works' we see a lot of that are not immediately released into the public domain are made solely for commercial gain, and once they are no longer being sold, the proprietary impositions still in effect over them are rather unfair to culture at large, I feel. For instance, Nintendo aren't producing or selling their Entertainment System consoles anymore, and presumably without doubt nor will they in the future, so what good does it do anyone to maintain the reserved rights so vigilantly?

*Not necessarily fixed ones — it could perhaps work like trademarking, ie. require constant usage of the copyrighted work, else the terms expire before long.


Now, if I did the same thing with mp3s of the very same album that somehow means I'm breaking copyright laws.
You're breaking copyright law in either case. What you buy is actually a licence to have a copy of the work, only to experience it yourself, effectively; you own the disc but not what is on it. Lending is usually quite clearly stated (well, as 'clearly' as small print ever states anything) to be a breach of copyright, but since everyone does it, it's more or less an established convention the holders won't generally raise legal concerns over — thankfully. Digital piracy is a relatively new thing, so they're still uppity about it, but they may eventually cease to be.

Shining Raichu

Expect me like you expect Jesus.

Age 32
Male
Australia
Seen October 17th, 2020
Posted December 21st, 2017
8,958 posts
12.3 Years
I'm actually quite pro-copyright. I feel like musical artists and filmmakers have spent so much effort making their original thoughts come to fruition that it would be wrong for others to use their intellectual property (even in the form of the finished product) or especially profit from it without their permission.

That said, the laws have become too strict. Especially in the hypothetical situation that Scarf discussed. But in this day and age, where a file can be transferred virtually without a trace within seconds to anywhere else in the world to be used by anyone at all, the laws need to be strict for the protection of the artist. If that results in some tightening of the rules that might lead to some punishments that some would find unfair, then so be it. The laws are well-advertised and people should really know better. You shouldn't be downloading that movie for free, anyway.
Moderator of General Chat
Age 29
Seen November 5th, 2017
Posted November 5th, 2017
3,499 posts
14.9 Years
It's silly, but it's rarely enforced so it doesn't pose much of a problem really.

What I do find wrong is how sometimes they will pick and choose someone to prosecute to try and set an "example". Nobody cares, everyone continues piracy and the like; all they've achieved is putting a hefty fine or prison sentence and criminal record onto an otherwise decent person.

Mr. X

It's... kinda effective?

Age 30
Male
London
Seen July 1st, 2022
Posted June 12th, 2019
2,389 posts
16.6 Years
ebay>piracy

Cheaper, and legal.

But still, if the copyright orginizations manage to kill piracy then they will just start going after auction sites since they allow people to obtain copyrighted materials at discount prices.

As for piracy, I have nothing agenst it. I pirate because, in kindergarden, they taught us that sharing is caring.

Esper

California
Seen June 30th, 2018
Posted June 30th, 2018
Copyright laws are more for the benefit of the businesses than the artists themselves, I think.

Let me quote something from the forward of a book by Cory Doctorow.

I recently saw Neil Gaiman give a talk at which someone asked him how he felt about piracy of his books. He said, "Hands up in the audience if you discovered your favorite writer for free ­­ because someone loaned you a copy, or because someone gave it to you? Now, hands up if you found your favorite writer by walking into a store and plunking down cash." Overwhelmingly, the audience said that they'd discovered their favorite writers for free, on a loan or as a gift. When it comes to my favorite writers, there's no boundaries: I'll buy every book they publish, just to own it (sometimes I buy two or three, to give away to friends who must read those books). I pay to see them live. I buy t­shirts with their book­covers on them. I'm a customer for life.

[...snip...]

People who study the habits of music-buyers have discovered something curious: the biggest pirates are also the biggest spenders. If you pirate music all night long, chances are you're one of the few people left who also goes to the record store (remember those?) during the day. You probably go to concerts on the weekend, and you probably check music out of the library too. If you're a member of the red-hot music-fan tribe, you do lots of everything that has to do with music, from singing in the shower to paying for black-market vinyl bootlegs of rare Eastern European covers of your favorite death-metal band.
And that's more or less how I feel about the whole "protecting the artists" argument. Granted, some thing can go too far, like people taking the work and calling it their own, and that's why everything should still be attributed to the actual author, but I don't think there's a great need to go too much beyond that.

Kura

twitter.com/puccarts

Age 33
Female
London, UK (orig. Toronto, Canada)
Seen August 30th, 2021
Posted August 24th, 2021
10,993 posts
18.7 Years
I don't know too much about the legalities of copyright.. but I think there should be different tiers of copywrites.. ._. Just so like the music industry/ book industry/ games industry can have their own jurisdiction.
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