overview
trivial
archaic
immoral
unenforceable
unintelligible
non-digital
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overview
This profile explores some of the myths about intellectual
property in 'the age of the internet', in particular
copyright.
It addresses some of the questions posed in the detailed
intellectual property (IP) guide
on our site. And it deals with particular issues in more
detail than is possible in that resource.
It also offers perspectives on other guides.
For example, the following page reflects the examination
in our guide to the 'new
economy' of how productivity and knowledge can be
evaluated. Counting widgets or personal computers is easy;
assessing whether the pcs - offline or online - result in
real economic gains is somewhat harder.
The IP guide highlights advocacy bodies, government
agencies and academic centres concerned with copyright.
myths, IP and cyberspace
Irrespective of legislation and enforcement
mechanisms, intellectual property is ultimately dependent
on community perceptions of its value and its ongoing
viability.
Isolated breaches of community norms are a fact of
life, online or offline, and may even strengthen a regime
by justifying particular enforcement mechanisms or market
structures. Although piracy statistics must be treated
with caution, there's little reason to believe that the
exploits of suburban hackers will destroy the content
industries. And suggestions that we should abandon
copyright are, at best, misplaced.
Intellectual property is an integral part of the old and
new economies. It has a major economic significance. It
also reflects a recognition of the non-financial value of
creativity. It is not overly weighted towards the
interests of large investors, particularly content
distributors such as recording and film companies.
That balance between the rights of copyright owners and
copyright users derives from an ongoing tug of war,
present since the invention of printing. Tension and
disagreement are central features of the 'copyright
system', independent of legislative or technological
fixes.
Unlike some of the more dogmatic theorists, we expect
copyright to be around for a long time. It won't be
destroyed by innovations such as peer-to-peer and hasn't
been fatally affected by the global information
infrastructure. It's not a "Gutenberg era artefact",
restricted to "dead tree flakes encased in dead
cow". Its operation in different markets will,
however evolve.
The following pages explore the mythology.
feedback
We welcome feedback on this profile and other parts of
the site
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(myth 1: it's trivial )
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