just COPY and PASTE
“If our property can be infinitely reproduced and instantaneously distributed all over the planet without cost, without our knowledge, without its even leaving our possession, how can we protect it? How are we going to get paid for the work we do with our minds? And, if we can't get paid, what will assure the continued creation and distribution of such work?� (Barlow, John. The Economy of Ideas)
The internet definitely has made it easy for one to find and re-use images for their own creation. With that said, it should not change the way we think about intellectual property rights. Once you post your work online, there is no set boundary for what the crime is if another decides to use your work. Last week my teacher spoke about China and the problem of recreating products to be sold (bags, watches, textbooks, etc.) that can not be done in the U.S. There is no law whatsoever and it has become out of control. It’s even gone to the extreme where professors are making a copy of the whole textbook because of shortages. The internet is not as extreme because as Jesse Walker mentioned, “there is more control.� (Barlow, John. The Economy of Ideas) He used the example of Adobe eBook which controls what you print and how many times you do. As for music and the concern of buying it like the old model, I believe we should keep buying. Just like other people who go into a store and buy the actual CD, it’s only ethical that everyone else should because the artist is not receiving credit for their work. Although I don’t care to download music online or whatnot, I don’t have much feelings towards it because I know others have mentioned how they’ve been able to find music that they can not find elsewhere and they do spend quite a lot downloading music online too.
I think intellectual property can be seen in many different ways. I agree that “Intellectual property law cannot be patched, retrofitted, or expanded to contain digitized expression any more than real estate law might be revised to cover the allocation of broadcasting spectrum� and “intellectual property is very different from physical property and can no longer be protected as though these differences did not exist.� (Barlow, John. The Economy of Ideas) This goes the same for Wikipedia, which I learned to use last week. It’s open to everyone and information is received through different minds and ideas. The information given is open to all. This is different when speaking in terms of doctors, lawyers, consultants who are being paid for their intellectual property.