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January 10, 2005
Freedom vs. Control (12/15/2004): Jonathan Zittrain
Jonathan's 40-minute crazed tour of basic copyright and rights management law and issues was very, very keen. Unfortunately this presentation isn't available on the NEASIS&T site, but the other presentations from the conference are available.
He described his presentation as the "pathos before the redemption" in reference to the rest of the program. On one hand, his comment is very astute: the "I feel for you" vibe of his still very informative and honest presentation on the basics of copyright law was a nice prelude to the hope for the future of copyright reform the other presentations offered. On the other hand, the other presentations did seem a bit ominous, or at least gave the impression that the future of copyright reform will definitely be a treacherous and long uphill battle to victory, with government and big business running interference at every turn.
There are several points I found most interesting about Jonathan's presentation:
- Fair use: He said to us all, "You might think you know what fair use is, but you don't." Apparently, with the recent updates in the law, fair use has become so complicated that you really need to watch your p's and q's, even if you're an educational institution. Further, with the request for permission to use digital content in databases becoming a necessary evil for educational institutions, you can't just copy something and say, "It's for a class" anymore. Jonathan summed it up best when he quoted Larry Lessig, "What is fair use but the right to hire a lawyer."
- Libraries are the ultimate pirates: When it comes to copyright, libraries are basically the ultimate in evil. Title 17 Section 109(b)(1)(A) allows libraries to lend items without breaking copyright law. Further, a special provision in the DMCA (outlined in Title 17 Section 1201(1)(a))allows for librarians to crack access protections on software under certain circumstances. There are guidelines, naturally, and the ability to hire a hacker to crack the software is really reserved for things like archiving issues and what have you. But who knew?
- "I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that": In Jonathan's view, a computer that runs anything you give it is, in his mind, a dinosaur. Vendors will get smart to this, and start to make devices that think on a certain level in order to keep you from "hurting yourself", while at the same time curbing your rights to do what you wish with the content you've purchased. Consumer friendly in some ways, and less disruptive to the computer ecosystem. However, I think it also becomes an issue of curbing creativity. Which is more important: the needs of the many, or the rights of the individual?
- ©opy your homework: Kids in Britain are being taught through a recent Citizenship curriculum that accepting and respecting copyright makes you a good citizen, and that you shouldn't fight it. In an example I can't find, but Jonathan displayed in a slide, children in the UK are being encouraged to place the copyright symbol on their homework. I think students should also be given the option of a Creative Commons license, which just might make me a Copyleft Commie in the eyes of the Citizenship curriculum folks.
You can watch some neat short films on copyright, intellectual property, and artists made by the finalists in the Arts Project Moving Image Contest.
January 10, 2005 10:22 AM