Communication and how one expresses their ideas creatively have changed drastically in our generation. The digital era in which we live has allowed individuals to access new information in a new more efficient manner. It has allowed access to a plethora of thoughts, concepts and artistic expressions. However, due to the copyright laws currently in place individuals are having to tip-toe around any outside influences, or what has previously been published, for fear that copyright laws will come back to haunt them. However, these copyright laws that have been established have not changed with the times. Despite all the technological advances and societal progress we have made, copyright law continues to remain untouched. Due to this, it is time for copyright law to change and expand its vision of what is considered legal and what is punishable under a set of laws. I do not believe copyright should be done away with completely, because it has played an important role especially in academics, giving credit to scholars for centuries when print media was the primary source of information. However, the ways in which media and information is shared today is far different from that of previous generations. With the advent of the internet, digital information is being used extremely differently than print media ever was. Individuals have easier access to more information today than the print era ever allowed; due to this, our generation views the information in print as being obsolete when compared to the information accessed through the internet.
In an article entitled “Why Napster Matters to Writing: Filesharing as a New Ethic of Digital Delivery” written by Danielle Nicole DeVoss and James E. Porter (Computers and Composition.23 2006) the authors indicate that U.S copyright has been one of the most important aspects for educators. The Fair Use doctrine limits the “exclusive rights of copyright holders, allowing certain individuals to fairly use copyright protected work” (199). The Fair Use Doctrine is established to encourage students to own up to their thoughts and ideas conveyed in their work. A student, knowing that it is legal for them to use other’s thoughts and ideas legally, may be more willing to share where the information came from. Whereas if they know they are in the wrong they are more liable to keep this information secret. I believe that artists and scholars should be credited for their work; however I think it is unnecessary for individuals to have to endure a painstakingly long process to attempt to get their work, if it is influenced by another, approved by copyright. Simply citing where the information came from and who the initial author was thought to be should suffice.
Today, with the advent of the internet, individuals everywhere are gathering information and reusing it for their own personal use or interest. Ideas, concepts, still images, and movies are constantly being “cut and pasted” onto new sites, some of which may not receive proper citation. None the less, they are still used. This makes it more difficult for others who wish to use the image difficult to determine its original location. These types of activities are not what I would consider to be stealing but rather sharing. An individual who has access to the information and are able to share it with others who has access to their information is only educating a broader audience. It is like the word of mouth phenomenon. DeVoss and Porter state, “The new digital ethic has a different orbit of delivery, ethic of use, of territory and of ownership…we must stress a positive ethic of collaboration and acceptable use of other’s work/writing.” (200-201) The authors later add, “We believe it is a positive ethic of filesharing and not how it is usually described as a criminal act of piracy.” (201).
This notion of the emergence of new ethics with the digital era is one that has shifted how we, as learners and creative beings, view copyright law. We should be able to draft media that has been influenced by some other form of artistic foundation to create our own works. We should be able to distribute our ideas digitally across borders, allowing us to learn from new cultures and customs. We can learn a lot from others, and similarly they can learn from U.S Americans. We should be able to draw on ideas that have been established by those who have come before us. We should be able to do all of these things carefree; we should not have to worry about being prosecuted for not adhering to proper copyright laws. The BBC published an article by Bill Thonpson, entitled “I Share, You Rip Off, They Pirate” He informs the audience of a problem that is occurring among underground musicians that are simply trying to get their music heard. He specifically addresses and artists known as Danger Mouse stating that, “he wants his music to be heard but is being stopped by large corporations and its lawyers. His only route to an audience is through the web”. Stories like this illustrate that there is not a lot of control over media and information that is being shared on the web. Individuals who wish to create some form of music or share some form of art, will find a way to do so. Due to this, I think that companies should focus more on evolving to this new phenomenon rather than fighting it every step of the way. Perhaps by allowing artists to share their work freely and promote their music without interference will gain enough support for the artist that individuals will, in return, want to purchase the media. Additionally, if artists push for record sales the record company may actually benefit.
Should large corporations be permitted to infringe upon ones individual creativity? Should people be punished for creating their own works that may, or may not have, been influenced by another party? I believe that we as a society socially construct the world around us. We should all assume some sort of responsibility for how our society acts as a whole because every single person has contributed to its outcome, whether it be by creating to new social norms or adjusting to the new trends. Our worlds are socially constructed. So for people to judge others and attempt to inhibit their artistic abilities by not allowing it to occur is wrong. If we are all able to expand on one another’s thoughts and ideas instead of judging them we may be able to expand our social, political and ethical lenses. The times are changing. We are all working on becoming a more unified people and by sharing thoughts and ideas freely between individuals, or countries, only encourages our unification.
After expressing my personal beliefs and values surrounding this issue, I would like to share how I will monitor my own work based on my present stance.
- I will give credit where credit is due. All my still images and videos will be provided an author, whether it is my or someone else’s work. If it is from a different site I will provide a link to that site so others are able to see where the origin of the material.
- The material that I use will be used in conjunction with other media to create something new. If the media is not being altered in some form it will be directly commented on and credited.
- I will, to the best of my ability, use material that falls under the jurisdiction of the fair use legislation to ensure that the media I am using is open to share. This will ensure nothing is “stolen” or used wrongfully.
- I will work to create a space that is legal and honorable. One that my viewers will enjoy and are able to derive creative insight of their own from.
