Copyright on the Internet

Illegal content unfortunately will continue to degrade industries for years to come unless action is taken. Though there are laws to prevent copyright, who knows if they will ever be abided by? Where I think the law fails, is in shutting down illegal content like torrents and P2P sharing software, like why is 'Limewire' still active today? The sole purpose of this software is to 'share' files, it sounds all very nice and innocent, but with most things these days having copyright protection, there isn't really anything that can legally be shared. What's worse is that they say on their website they "recognize OGGs and MP3s licensed under a Creative Commons ...  Read the complete review

You may recall the problems that ensued when the UK government attempted to impose unwelcome taxes on the citizens of the north American colonies. As a result of the tea tax, Boston Harbour tasted of Darjeeling for a while, which marked the start of a significant rebellion. I'd like to thank the 18th-century Bostonians for the idea and precedent. I suggest that we dress up as native British people and intercept the next shipment of CDs from US-controlled media and software companies and toss them in the Thames. Perhaps a troupe of Morris dancers from the depths of some Oxfordshire village could be pressed into service. I realise that a tax is ...  Read the complete review

Copyright is a long-established area of the law; the internet has recently burst onto the global scene. Unsurprisingly governments and international organisations have struggled to marry old with new. In the UK, one of the main planks of copyright law - the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act - went onto the statute books in 1988, several years before the internet rolled out across the globe and downloading MP3s became the norm. Obviously there is still work for UK legislators to do. The questions they face though are relatively simple. Does the internet encourage breach of copyright, ie stealing the fruits of another's labour, and should/can anything ...  Read the complete review

I suppose if the Internet was a city and houses were webpages, it wouldn't seem too odd if we browsed through windows, and if we liked something; we could just take it. In the Internet everything is up for grabs! But the Internet alas is nothing physical (in essence), and so ownership on the Internet is a completely different ballgame. Tangible versus electronic reproduction (no, not cybersex). In the real world I guess it's like setting up your own fruit and veg stall, or finding a stall that has your goods. First of all, anything that you've created (be it art, text, music, programs etc.) that you want to be shared online, go ahead and do ...  Read the complete review

Copyright infringemnt is nothing new, the internet has merely given us a new forum in which the unscrupulous can rip off the rest of us. Who victimises whome is an interesting question though. The basic fact of copyright is that is you commit something original to paper/computer/other recording method, then you own the copyright and no one else has the right to use said material without your permission. In this country, copyright is automatic (I doubt its the same the world over, and know China has a very different attitude to intellectual property.) It has always been the case that some people will steal material from others. Pirated music isn't ...  Read the complete review