Sunday, November 20, 2011
CHAPTER 23 THOUGHT 3
The U.S. Constitution says copyrights are used to, "promote the progress of science and useful arts". The author in our text feels the Digital Millennium Copyright Act does the opposite and "assures that new innovations don't displace old ones". An example of this from the text is about a Russian programmer who wrote a book on how to move Adobe's eBooks from one computer to another and for the computer to read the book out loud for blind people, and the programmer was arrested for violating copyright law. Do you feel that copyright laws hurt the advancement in web base material as well as technology as a whole? Do you have any examples of this?
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I don't have any examples because I am not very familiar with online or computer advancements to where I can just suggest something off the top of my head. But after reading the chapters in our book and reading your question I do find it hard for their to be advancements when they place certain rules and regulations on everything especially copyright laws. It could most definitely hurt the advancement of web based material in the future.
ReplyDeleteI feel that if the copyright laws are so strict that it hinders the advancement of technology then there needs to be revisions done on the law. I personnally do not know of any examples of this but I am sure it has happened before.
ReplyDeleteI think it is justifiable that someone who essentially hacked adobe's system in order to freely download works that people put their time in to was arrested. However, as far as keeping new ideas from replacing old ones is just silly. I feel like that is what this country is built on. If you create something superior to something else we should celebrate that not keep it from surfacing. I would hate to see the advancement of web based material suffer over some idiotic legislation. I don't have any examples.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act inhibits innovation of web based material. Much of the time there are many independent people working on similar ideas and laws like this are necessary to assure who owns what. Copyrights protect the owners of many types of intellectual property from theft. Progress will happen regardless of any government regulation.
ReplyDeleteThere are laws in place for a reason. I feel that the Russian programmer did a nice thing but he broke the law. Copyrights are in place to protect a persons interest. If there's a problem with those laws then maybe they should be revisited but is that just the opinion of this author? I don't know enough about the copyright act to make a decision. I as well have no example.
ReplyDeleteI think that we have laws for a reason and if he would have thought about things he could have gotten the copyrights. i don't know enough to have an example.
ReplyDeleteInnovation can never cease to exist. Whenever barricades such as copyright laws are put in place, people will always find ways around them. In some ways, copyright laws may even force further levels of innovation. Instead of simply copying something or making an identical piece of software to serve the same purpose, people will have to create new tools that are unique enough to not be deemed a copyright infringement. A hypothetical example would be an imaginary video-editing software. Someone could crack the software and enable the free use of any features that would have previously required payment. On the other hand, if they were wary of the possibility of an impending copyright infringement lawsuit, they may instead develop an entirely new software that is somewhat similar but is overall more advanced and capable of more uses.
ReplyDeleteIn that instance I could see where that would be perceived as a bad thing, copyrights are designed to protect peoples ideas. In a way this could hinder innovation, however you can still do these types of things you just have to swim the right legal channels and bureaucracy which can be an disabling process in itself.
ReplyDeleteInnovation is never completely unique. All technologies are somehow based on previous ideas. I do think that copyright laws can impede technological advancement. Especially because they deter individuals without sufficient capital from making contributions. A large company could have the money to develop new technology with the modifications made by the Russian programmer, and copyrighted it as something else. Whereas the Russian programmer was probably only able to make modifications to the existing technology.
ReplyDeleteTo the extent that copyright law is enforced in some cases, copyright law is ridiculous. Open source programs allow for innovations in programming and software that are exempt from these laws. It is amazing to read stories of the prosecution of copyright cases.
ReplyDeleteIn this day and age, I'm not really sure that copy right laws should make that big a difference. But I am not really familiar with copy rights laws. I guess I should do some research. I think that people will always find a way to get around these type of laws.
ReplyDeleteI do feel that copyright laws are really stict. Especially when it comes to musicians and record companies. I'm sure you've seen it on youtube when the music had been removed. I doubt those individuals were claiming that the music was their own, but it still gets removed.
ReplyDeleteI do feel that these copyright laws hurt the advancement of technology. The fact that this man was arrested for trying to create an innovation that could help the blind is absurd. People are always making technology better as time goes on. These copyright laws just seem as if they are not allowing this process to take place.
ReplyDeleteI believe that copyright laws hurt the advancement in web base material as well as technology as a whole. If the programmer can't even write a book explaining how to do something for a computer user, then computer technology won't be able to expand as fast as it could.
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not think any of our copyright laws are being enforced. I know that anyone can get just about anything off the internet. With the high speeds of our internet you can now download music, video, books, straight to their computer within minutes and without any copyright laws attached to the media. The bad part of having some much information available to you, you really don’t know if it’s accurate. Anyone could sit down in front of a computer and write a blog stating a lot of facts and you won’t know if it’s the true. I’m thinking that some kind of media technology could stop that from happening?
ReplyDelete