Brief
Rationale: The networked computer has thrown
copyright into crisis, but the defense of copyright
threatens the networked computer. Because the computer
is a universal copying machine, and because the
networked computer can transmit copies across the
global network, the networked computer threatens
to render copyright a dead letter. But, copyright
is fundamental to the media ecology of the modern
world: the legal protections of copyright have justified
the investments of time, energy and money necessary
for the invention and institution of the feature
film, radio, television, and the networked computer.
However, if, following the injunctions of the big
media companies, the networked computer's software
and hardware is restructured to protect copyright,
the computer could lose its virtues as a technology
of inscription, and the Internet could lose its
valuably open character. For example, a user could
find it impossible to invoke simple computer commands
like "save, save as, cut, copy and paste and
reveal source code;” it could become impossible
to remix content or make it available to other users
on the network. At the same time, purchasers of
copyrighted content could lose customary rights
enjoyed in an analog medium (like the printed book):
to reread, lend, and resell; to make archival copies;
to exercise fair use for the purposes of teaching,
criticism, parody, and art.
The battle about the future of copyright and the
networked computer has been joined, but, so far,
only the largest economic stakeholders have had
an effective voice. Large media companies have proposed
legal measures to change the networked computer
so as to protect their copyrights (e.g. the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act's anti-de-encryption provision;
the Hollings Bill draconian controls on all digital
devices); hardware and software companies have resisted
those measures that would foreclose on the future
of the networked computer (e.g. the temporary set
back to the Hollings Bill). Media and software companies
are legitimate stakeholders and should be part of
this debate and Stakeholders' Congress. But so should
others. |
