Life in the Network

I agree with Barlow when he states, "We will need to develop an entirely new set of methods as befits this entirely new set of circumstances." (In reference to the Internet and intellectual property.)

We need to throw out the old law books and start making new laws to mediate intellectual conflicts on and because of the Internet.

The government seems to be open in doing this, appointing a specific committee, The Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, to handle Internet issues.
(http://judiciary.house.gov/committeestructure.aspx?committee=3)

In recent news, MaryBeth Peters stood in front of the committee in hopes to reform Section 115 of the Copyright Act.
She states, "the reform of the digital music licensing system is the most important music issue currently before Congress."
(http://www.copyright.gov/docs/regstat032207-1.html)

Congress might be at a standstill with some of it's laws- but other companies are finding solutions.
Creative Commons is be headed in the right direction, creating an alternative 'copyright' "to build a layer of reasonable, flexible copyright in the face of increasingly restrictive default rules." (CC website). As a side note, I wish all informational videos were that entertaining to watch.

BitLaw is a comprehensive Internet resource on technology law, covering subjects such as patent, copyright, trademark, and Internet legal issues. BitLaw was developed locally by Beck and Tysver, a law firm in Minneapolis. (www.bitlaw.com)

Finally, if you Google 'internet intellectual property solutions", a whole bevy of websites come up to help people learn about their rights in the digital age.

It will be interesting to see how our laws will evolve because of the Internet, maybe we'll turn into some sort of Uptopian society where no one cares anymore...nah probably not.