Intellectual+Property

I'm sure everyone knows of copyright protection and property laws. It is quite simple... your proerty is yours, and as such, you have rights to that property. for instance, when you steal my CD player, there is a law being broken. You have stolen a physical object of mine. However, things are now more obscure.... what about ideas? Who is to say that Al Gore was the first person to create the internet, perhaps decades prior some envisionary thought of the internet. Does the fact that one person thinks of something first make it solely their idea, better yet, how do we determine who created what first?

The idea of Intellectual Property is something that is very obscure in our country. Historically, we are a country that fosters ingenuity and creative design. We reward those people that create innovative products (i.e. Steve Jobs and Apple). For instance, we reward individuals that buy hybrid cars with tax incentives, actors with Emmy Awards, and musical artists with Grammy Awards. We want to continue this realm of creativity, and promote artists' thinking with awards and monetary awards.

This being said, Intellectual Property is something we want to protect, just like a physical object! The United States has strong Intellectual Property laws, and we try to honor and respect people's ideas. However, we are in a global community and other nations don't have the same laws, nor do they care to honor ours. On top of that, we are in a globally connected world, and the internet starts to make those laws skewed and wishy washy. How do we protect one's thoughts and ideas in a world that promotes free communication. For instance, myself, and I'm sure you too, have bought a CD and copied it for your car or a friend. This is a violation of Intellectual Property, believe it or not. As simple as it seems, it is, you are taking someone else's creation and distributing it without their permission. You gained thier permission on the **1** copy you bought originally.

This was the case not too long ago with Napster, a popular music downloading site. I'm sure many of you use Limewire or Frostwire or Itunes as a means to get music. Itunes, unlike the other two, is US Based and as a result follows US code. However, filesharing happens all over the world in countries that our laws don't effect... as a result, tons of intellectual property is exchanged freely on the internet with no punishment. Napster, tried doing this a while back in the US, and as a result....they paid heavy fines.

Below, you will see 2 videos on the issue of file sharing of music, and 3 articles....all of which gives you both sides of the story. Take a second and watch and read and think! Moreso, think of what time frame this happened and what could have the recording businesses done differently, pending they knew the direction that the internet was heading!


 * //You are to do the following:

1. Start a discussion on how you feel about Intellectual Property and what should and shouldn't be protected under the law

2. Share how you feel about technology affecting Intellectual Property laws, and what can be done (if anything) to help the artist's integrity

3. Comment on three of your classmate's discussions as well (and this should be more than "I know" or "I agree"). //**

[|Why Napster is Right!]

[|Napster is Shut Down]

[|Bye Bye Napster]

**__Video Summary of the Napster Case (note: this is a summary of what went down)__** media type="youtube" key="7OPw0T9RL9s" height="364" width="445"

__**//AWESOME VIDEO on Napster Scenario//**__

media type="youtube" key="pedo_Wna0T0" height="360" width="580"

Video on Intellectual Property Law and what it Means in Napster Terms! __**
 * __

media type="youtube" key="LSr3tU3gn_0" height="364" width="445"