Lecture 13:
Makers, Keepers:
Does information want to be free?
Professor Victoria Meng
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Lecture Outline
I. Property is a social
construct.
II. Copyright serves
two interests.
III. We determine the
future of IP
creation/distribution
in the world.
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Unit Three:
Identity and Community
• There are many “hot topics” about the
impact of emerging digital media.
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Unit Three:
Identity and Community
• There are many “hot topics” about the
impact of emerging digital media.
• We have completed the more
theoretical part of the course and
established common ground.
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Unit Three:
Identity and Community
• There are many “hot topics” about the
impact of emerging digital media.
• We have completed the more
theoretical part of the course and
established common ground.
• We can now put theory into practice:
who are YOU and how have digital
media shaped your identity?
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Public Service Announcement
Check out “FMS 110:
Introduction to New Media” for
more information on intellectual
property, copyright, fair use, and
related concepts and history.
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The Social Contract
“Every law the
people has not
ratified in person is
null and void — is,
in fact, not a law.”
-Rousseau
The Social Contract,
Or Principles of Political Right
(Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762)
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Problems with Social Contracts
• We all need to
agree to surrender
some freedoms in
order to preserve
social order.
The Social Contract,
Or Principles of Political Right
(Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762)
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I. Property is a Social Construct
Government and Economy are Linked
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I. Property is a Social Construct
• What constitutes property?
- Tangible goods.
- People?
- Ideas?
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I. Property is a Social Construct
• What constitutes property?
• Who can own property?
- Individuals.
- Organizations.
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I. Property is a Social Construct
• What constitutes property?
• Who can own property?
• What can one do with the property
that one owns?
- Use, trade, discard, etc.
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I. Property is a Social Construct
• What constitutes property?
• Who can own property?
• What can one do with the property
that one owns?
• How is the value of property set?
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Tangent: History and Progress
Back to the Future III (Robert Zemeckis, 1990)
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Tangent: History and Progress
Values arise in relation
to changing needs, and
progress is not inevitable.
Timepieces:
Stonehenge v. Rolex
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Constructing Intellectual Property
• Intellectual Property (IP): copyright,
patents, trademarks.
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Constructing Intellectual Property
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Constructing Intellectual Property
• Intellectual Property (IP): copyright,
patents, trademarks.
• Information does not behave like
goods: it is less limited by scarcity
and harder to be monitored for use.
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Constructing Intellectual Property
Blue curve:
Supply
Red curve:
Demand
X marks
the spot
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Constructing Intellectual Property
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Constructing Intellectual Property
Blue curve:
Supply
Red curve:
Demand
X marks
the spot
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Constructing Intellectual Property
• Intellectual Property (IP): copyright,
patents, trademarks.
• Information does not behave like
goods: it is less limited by scarcity
and harder to be monitored for use.
• Lack of economic incentives can
lead to low production of
intellectual property.
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Constructing Intellectual Property
Please study Miller, 216-222, 235-257.
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
“The Congress shall have Power… To
promote the Progress of Science and
useful Arts, by securing for limited
Times to Authors and Inventors the
exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries.”
Article I, Section 8, Clause 8
US Constitution
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
“The Congress shall have Power… To
promote the Progress of Science and
useful Arts, by securing for limited
Times to Authors and Inventors the
exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries.”
Article I, Section 8, Clause 8
US Constitution
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
Please study Flew, 209-211.
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
I. Authors/Inventors:
Exclusive right (legal monopoly)
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
I. Authors/Inventors:
Exclusive right (legal monopoly)
Right to trade the right and to make
derivative works
J. K.
Rowling
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
II. Society: A work enters the public
domain when its copyright expires
A Fair(y)
Use Tale
(Faden,
2007)
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
II. Society: A work enters the public
domain when its copyright expires
- Constitution: 14 + 14 = 28
- 1831: 28 + 14 = 42
- 1909: multi-media; 28 + 28 = 56
- 1976: major revision; life of author
+ 50 = a LONG time
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
II. Society: A work enters the public
domain when its copyright expires
- 1998: Sonny Bono Copyright Term
Extension Act: life of author + 70 =
REALLY LONG time
- 1998: Digital Millennium Copyright
Act (DMCA): criminalizes individual
unauthorized digital copying
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
II. Society: Copyrighted materials
can be used without payment
under “Fair Use” principles (1976)
1. Purpose
2. Medium
3. Amount
4. Impact
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
The Hunt for Gollum (Bouchard et al,
2009)
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II. Copyright’s Dual Purpose
• Repeated extensions of copyright
policy have reduced the benefits of IP
production.
• Objections to copyright today:
- Consumers: prices are too high
- Creators: hampered creativity
- Academics: benefits distributors and
conglomerates
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The Future of IP in the World
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
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End of Lecture 13
Next Lecture: Super-Participation:
Why are people scared of fans and gamers?
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