#askapirate

I interviewed Summer.  She seemed like a good person to interview because she knew some information about intellectual property, but also did not seem too concerned about the real aspects of it so I wanted to find out what she really knew and thought.  Overall, I found it interesting that her main concerns were having her internet shut off because I think that most college students might think that they are able to get away with illegally downloading, when a surprisingly large amount of students do in fact get caught.

Q: How much do you know about intellectual property?

A: I wouldn’t say that I know especially a lot about intellectual property, but I know that it is basically claiming property over your own original ideas, so I guess copyrighted material.  Like if you have an idea, or make a song or design a product, then you go and get it copyrighted, and I guess that would be considered your intellectual property. 

Q: Do you understand the laws of intellectual property well, or just know the main points?

A: No, I wouldn’t say that I’m especially familiar with, but I’ve had conversations with people about having an idea and you get it copyrighted and then you try to pitch it to a big company, they can either say “Here’s $10,000m thanks” and take your idea or they can just take it and change it a little bit.  I guess I’m just not very familiar with the laws and how they’re applied to every situation.  

Q: Are there certain rights you think that creators should have when it comes to their ideas and the things they produce?

A: I think this varies with the product and what the intended use of that product is.  It’s difficult with thing such as songs because if you change one beat or you change one lyric, it can become different and it isn’t copyrighted material anymore, but if you take something like a cell phone design, I think that the Apple and Droid drama is a good example of that, and the copyright gets more complicated then.  I don’ really have an opinion formed about that.

Q: What about the users of the products?

A: I think that this too depends on what the product is.  For songs in particular, I’m really unsure because I have personally taken songs and made a slideshow and posted it on Youtube and it was taken down, even when it’s for a class or something and I have to turn it in.  I had bought the song, and I think that I should be able to use it for a class project, but I guess crossing the line is posting it on the internet without permission.  I feel like you should be able to post it in a video and let people look at it.  It isn’t like they’re going to think it’s my song.  I’m obviously going to site whose song it is and I have, but it has still been taken down.

Q: If you could change the laws of intellectual property, what would you change?

A: I would try to make it more equal, meaning that I would make it so that the “little people” would mean more or at least the same as the big corporations.  So if as an individual, I have an idea, I should have the same rights as the big corporations and they shouldn’t be able to overpower because they have money and can afford big lawyers for lawsuits.  You shouldn’t be able to sue someone for copyright, it would just be like, “this was my material and you used it.”  I just feel like it should be equal across the board, no matter who you are or how much money you have.

Q: Do you know many people who pirate media?

A: I would say, probably every single person I know has done it, especially music.  But since the shutdown of Limewire, I think that it has decreased by a large amount.  The threats of fines and jail time don’t really scare people because so many people do it.

Q: Do you ever willingly pirate media?  If so, why? 

A: Yeah, I mean, of course.  I used Napster and thought it was the greatest thing.  It made it easier than buying cds because if you didn’t like all of the songs on a cd, you could just download one and make a personal playlist.  But, I’d rather use free media like Pandora.

Q: Does anything stop you from doing it?

A: It isn’t as accessible as it was before. 

Q: What is the biggest deterrent?

This evening I interviewed my friend Sophie about intellectual property rights.  Throughout the interview I gained new perspectives, we didn't really discuss research papers in class, but she made a valid point.  Some scientist spend their entire lives on a research project, so credit should be given where its due.  Also, throughout the interview, it was nice to see the common views that we share.  Anyway, the interview went something like this...

April: “What do you think about the current laws and regulations surrounding intellectual property? The definition of Intellectual property from Wikipedia is…Intellectual property (IP) is a juridical concept which refers to creations of the mind for which exclusive rights are recognized.[1] Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property rights include copyright, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and in some jurisdictions trade secrets.  Although many of the legal principles governing intellectual property rights have evolved over centuries, it was not until the 19th century that the term intellectual property began to be used, and not until the late 20th century that it became commonplace in the majority of the world.[2] 

Sophie: “They’re a little over the top…They fine you so much money just for one song.  Without the fans that listen to the music or buy these books, the people who came up with them don’t have anything.  Yet, they’re penalizing the people who give you your money in the end.””

April: “What rights do you think content creators should have?”

Sophie: “They do have the right to what they created, I don’t think they have to right to go out and heavily punish the people who supposedly steal what they created.  Although to some extent, there should be some kind of –punishment.

April: “What rights do you think content users should have?”

Sophie: “I think they should be able to get whatever they want to get, but if they do get caught, it shouldn’t be really bad punishment for them.  If they do get caught, they should get more warnings.”

April: “Do you think there are ethical dimensions (as opposed to just legal ones) to intellectual property rights?”

Sophie: “Of course, when I think of property rights, I think more towards the musical industry, or downloading music, downloading movies for free.  There’s also the aspect of more research papers and stuff, it’s something that people put their lives into, and so if someone uses that without their permission I think there’s definitely some bad ethics.  Whereas when you make some kind of parody, people obviously know it’s not yours, you’re just building off of it, it’s more for yourself.  So in terms of ethics, it depends on what you’re using it for and how you’re using it.”

April: “What do you think about DJ’s using other people’s work (remixes)?”

Sophie: “Good if they use someone else’s work, then if it comes out catchy, it draws attention not only to the person themselves, but also to the original work.  But if you don’t give credit, that’s a big no no.” 

April: “What do you think about artists using others works (ie. That picture that you posted on my Facebook? (Be sure to link picture)”

Sophie: “That’s okay, it’s more of a problem to me, if you take someone’s drawing, as is, and claim it as your own.”

April: “Do you knowingly pirate media? Why or why not?”

Sophie:  “I pirate media… I’m poor, a college student, can’t afford to go to the theater, might as well just watch it in my room.”

April: “Under federal law, downloaders can be fined up to $150,000 per music track.  When researching the issue, an article about a Minnesota woman came up.  She was fined $1.9 million for downloading 24 tracks.  Four men who ran the site she downloaded from spent a year in jail for making downloads available.  Do you think penalties are fair? If not, how would you prosecute these people?”

Sophie: “These artists and actors are making millions of dollars doing what they do… let people listen to your music.  It’s how you get fans.  $1.9 million is definitely not worth it.  The penalties are not fair.  There should be a fine, maybe a couple hundred per song.”

April: “As far as jail time, do you think that was fair?”

Sophie: “I think the people that who made it available were more in the wrong that the person who downloaded it.  My mentality, if you don’t want it to get leaked and have people downloading it illegally then, the company who has the songs should prevent it from getting out.  Whatever they do, there are people who will find loopholes and ways to get the music, movies, books, and art that they want.”

April: “Take- down notice discussed in class.  The major company will no longer be in the wrong, but the person downloading will still be fined.  Do you think that’s fair?”