CISC280 project 4

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School

Northampton County Area Community College *

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Course

280

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Computer Science

Date

Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Uploaded by UltraTurtle1405

CISC280 - Project 4 Reader's rights, Remixing and Mashups A number of prominent legal scholars have recently expressed support for a copyright system in the United States that gives rights not just to authors and creators of content but also to those who read, view, and listen to that content. These limited user rights would go well beyond fair use and typically encompass broad access and distribution rights, including the right to share digital content with others. The idea of a “law of user’s rights” is not new, although there has always been a measure of resistance. Yet this idea has gained considerable traction among intellectual property scholars, especially within the last decade. They see copyright as far too heavily tilted toward enriching owners of content; hence the law must be reconfigured to offer more concrete benefits and opportunities to the consumers of content. Jessica Litman, for example, ardently insists that we must take readers’ interests more seriously and “reclaim copyright for readers.” What specific rights should readers have? While some argue for a modest set of user rights, others propose a thick set of rights including the right to share works with others along with the right to recode or transform a work to give it a different meaning, even if the new product is highly derivative of the original work. Among the readers’ rights proposed is the prerogative to engage in remixing or creating mashups without getting permission from the original copyright holders. Specifically, users would be allowed to remix digital content by recombining pieces from different preexisting cultural works such as music, photos, books, and movies, even if those objects have a copyright. Under this system, filmmakers would be allowed to construct new movies out of substantial clips compiled from digital movies located on computer systems around the word. Such a creative mashup, of course, is currently illegal, unless it falls within the restrictive parameters of fair use. But Larry Lessig and others maintain that the law must be changed, so that ordinary people become “producers” of culture, not just “consumers” of culture. In this way we can return to an “amateur” creative culture that supports the participation of the multitude instead of just an elite few. Where might the public stand on this issue? Litman claims that we are on “the verge of reaching a social consensus that mashing up is an important copyright liberty,” that even copyright owners should not want to prevent. She goes on to stipulate that the law should allow for the creation and sharing of mashups as long as this is done non-commercially. Some legal scholars such as Robert Merges do not believe that the impetus to promote this remix culture should lead to structural changes in copyright law. They argue that it would be unfair to the original creators of mass market content for remixers to “redistribute” their works and thereby interfere with their ability to appropriate the value of their creations. We cannot neglect the efforts of musicians, songwriters, novelists, and film makers who make this content. They have a right to control distribution, and, within limits, a right to control the fundamental meaning of those works. According to Merges, “The story of the original content creator should affect how we think about remixing.” The solution is to structure the law so that both content creators and users are treated fairly and justly, but this does not mean diluting the rights original content creators deserve over their creative works. Questions 1. Should copyright laws be altered to facilitate remixing and mashups ( e.g., by broadening the terms of fair use, which currently permits the use of very small samples of music or movies)? Why or why not?

CISC280 - Project 4 I do not believe copyright laws should be altered. I feel that creators deserve to be credited and receive royalties for their work. However, I do believe that consumers should be able to create mashups and remixes, and use songs in videos, for personal, non-commercial use without being penalized by entities such as Instagram and YouTube (as long as the content is not monetized). 2. Should remixers be allowed to profit from their efforts? Why or why not? If someone plans on commercially releasing a remix, I feel that the remix should be treated the same as a cover version of a song. The remixer should be required to pay a mechanical royalty to the original composer. 3. After viewing Larry Lessig's TED talk and Everything is a Remix (week 5), how do you feel about remixing? Should it be considered a copyright violation? Why or why not? It should be considered a copyright violation if the remix creator attempts to make money from the remix and does not credit the original creator and pay them mechanical royalties. Ethics of sharing A plane makes an emergency crash landing on a deserted tropical island. Two dozen survivors must fend for themselves until help arrives. All of them are from large cities, and none of them has camping experience. The survivors find it impossible to gather enough food, and everyone begins losing weight. One person spends a lot of time by himself and figures out how to catch fish. He brings fish back to camp. Others ask him to teach them how to catch fish. He refuses, but offers to share the fish he has caught with the other passengers as long as they take care of the other camp chores, such as hauling fresh water, gathering firewood, and cooking. Debate the morality of the bargain proposed by the fisherman. Explain why the fisherman’s position is morally wrong or morally acceptable, based on your moral framework. The fisherman’s position is morally wrong. I believe that we should share and not hoard knowledge. The fisherman sounds like he just wants to get out of doing “hard labor.” 1. Is it hopeless to try to protect intellectual property rights in the era of digital media? Why or why not? Yes, because you can’t claim rights over an idea. You can claim rights over a product that comes from that idea, but you can’t control thoughts. 2. Benjamin Franklin created many useful inventions without any desire to receive financial reward. Is intellectual property protection needed in order to promote innovation? I do not believe so. The scientists Banting and Best invented synthetic insulin with the intent for it to be free to whoever needed it. Intellectual property protection is only required in the US because of capitalist greed. 3. Do you support the aims of the Google Books project? Does this initiative give Google too much power or is it an opportunity to rediscover out of print books and authors? Yes, I support the Google Books project. They are careful to respect copyright laws, and provide access to out-of- print materials, which is always a good thing so these materials aren’t lost forever. 4. How does the debate over digital music illuminate the differences among ethics, morality, and law?

CISC280 - Project 4 5. Is the concept of digital rights management (DRM) doomed to failure? I certainly hope so! I understand and respect the intent of DRM, but it goes too far overboard. For example, at the beginning of the pandemic, I found a video online that showed frontline healthcare workers and was set to Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.” I shared the video on my Instagram account – which is a personal, private account – and it was removed due to copyright infringement. I believe things like that should fall under the Fair Use Act. I’ve also uploaded obscure movies to YouTube and received copyright violations because the movie had a 5 second snippet of a song. Even more baffling to me is that I’ve received copyright strikes by uploading bootleg versions of songs from concerts. If I was trying to make money off these things, I would absolutely agree that they should be considered copyright violations. But if it’s purely to share the material with others who also have an appreciation of such things, I don’t believe that should be covered under DRM. 6. What does the US Supreme Court decision in MGM v. Grokster mean for the development of future peer-to-peer network technologies? I believe it caused P2P networks to simply exist in a different form. Instead of using Napster, LimeWire, eMule, Grokster, etc., people now use torrent websites and programs such as BitTorrent, ThePirateBay, RARBG, etc. to download movies and music illegally. There is an entire website called http://jungleland.dnsalias.com/ where almost every concert that Bruce Springsteen has ever performed is available in both audio and/or video form. It’s a “database” and as far as I know has never been shut down or went after by Bruce and his people. There’s an unwritten code between Springsteen fans that bootlegs are always welcome to be shared, but NOT purchased because it’s not our music from which to profit. Obviously, there are going to be people who go against that, but people are always going to go against rules, whether they’re explicit or implied. No law is going to change that. 7. (If you are online only, this question is also your weekly discussion question) Survey 10 of your peers with these questions. How many tracks do they have in their digital music collection? How many of these tracks did they download for free? How many of these tracks did they get from friends or family members? How many of these tracks did they rip from a CD they purchased? How many of these tracks did they purchase online? After computing the averages, share the results here. # of tracks Free Friends Ripped Online 2273 842 9 252 1371

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