Copyright & file sharing

[taaizir]

Next month's report on "Digital Britain" is expected to address the issue of so-called piracy i.e. unlicensed sharing of files such as music and movies. ISPs are understandably reluctant to get involved in policing and even punishing their clients, although this is the preferred option of the creative industries.
Given that we have all at one time or another borrowed a cd from the library and copied it (or tracks from it), and that the difference these days is only one of scale, not principle, what do we think should be done?

[Jonzjob]

I have always reconed that if they were not so greedy they would be better off because fewer people would 'pirate' things?

[Jen]

     The performing rights licence that now even the smallest of businesses have to have before they can switch on the radio has added to the artists coffers. Even a radio station has to pay to play a song, even though fewer  cd's would get "known" and bought if they were not played on the airwaves. I certainly think they are overpaid already.

[Grumpy John]

I think copyrights should be safeguarded, creative folk deserve rewards in proportion to the merit of their work, a free-for-all would remove all incentives for original compositions, whether rock, pop, jazz, classical, whatever.  There is certainly a need for more clarity of the law.
                           GJ

[kedge]

I remember the (probably apocryphal) story of Peter Skellern in the back of a cab when the cabbie told him "Yea I have all your records, my mate copies his LP's onto tape and I play them all the time in my cab" when arriving at his destination Peter got out of the cab and walked away. The cabby shouted after him - "Hey what about my fare" to which PS is reputed to have replied "What about my income".

Copyright does not only go to the record companies and the hugely successful artists - it also goes to those starting out as well.