Before I get to the point of this article, just a quick update:

A  new indictment was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia against Megaupload, the file-sharing site founded by Kim Dotcom, which was seized by US authorities back in January.  Dotcom along with other Megaupload employees were charged with engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering, and two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement, and are now waiting to be extradited in the US.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the new charges state that “Megaupload reproduced content from third-party websites, including Google Inc.’s YouTube, with the intent of making it available for reproduction.”

Even before Megaupload was shutdown by the Feds, the web was abuzz with talks about copyright and the bills they wanted to be passed unto laws in order to protect copyrighted materials.  Lawmakers came up with the  Protect IP Act, a proposed law with the stated goal of giving the U.S. government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to “rogue websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods,” especially those registered outside the U.S. but it was faced with a lot of controversies regarding digital rights and the methods used to enforce laws and regulations regarding copyrighted content on the web, the Stop Online Piracy Act which was said to be the revamped version of the Protect IP Act, and the “The Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade” or OPEN Act which  would enhance ITC’s Section 337 powers to deal with infringing goods, whether physical or virtual, being sold to U.S. consumers from foreign Web sites.

But all of those were met with much antagonism and criticism that during the hearing for SOPA and PIPA, some websites shutdown their operation as a form of protest and even civilians showed their support when they posted articles on Facebook or shared links in other social media regarding the hazards of SOPA and PIPA to their internet life if those bills were passed into laws.  Both bills were put on hold.

Still, though the bills weren’t passed into law, that didn’t stop the authorities from shutting down Megaupload which in turn made other file-sharing sites abandon their operation like Btjunkie.  In short, the Feds do not need any other law to take down sites which begs the questions, why lobby for SOPA, PIPA and any other bills if the Feds are just going to do what they want?  Which sites are safe from investigation or shutdown?  Does the Megaupload shutdown mean that other file-sharing sites are safe or they’re standing on thin ice?

What The Heck Is Copyright?

The main issue here is copyright, right? But what does copyright really mean?  And if a material is copyrighted, does that mean no one, other than the copyright owner has the right to use the work?  Are there limitations to copyright?  Or are copyrights F-O-R-E-V-E-R?

Here’s a quirky little video passed onto me by our very own Kit Dotson about copyright, A Fair(y) Use Tale.  The video used clips from Disney movies, i.e. Toy Story, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Lilo and Stitch, to explain what copyright is.

Simply put, “copyright is a permanently fixed original work which can only be used by the copyright owner”, according to the Disney characters on the video.  “It is forbidden to use the copyright work without permission granted by the copyright owner.”  And if anyone violates copyright, that person should be able to pay for using it illegally.

So which can be copyrighted?  According to the very informative video, books, plays, music, dance, movies and pictures, but an idea cannot be copyrighted.  But here’s the interesting part, copyright only lasts for 14 years, after that, the material become part of the public domain which makes it free for anyone to use because 14 years is enough to make huge money out of it.  But the problem is, copyright now lasts forever.  Why?  Because people just love getting paid for their work and they want to cash in as long as they can.

So is there no way for anyone to use copyrighted materials?  According to the video, there is and it’s called fair use.  Fair use sets the limitations on copyrighted materials but it’s a bit tricky.  You can only use a small amount or portion of the copyrighted material for teaching, reporting news, creating a parody (like the “A Fair(y) Use Tale”), and critical commenting.  So how will you know if you are covered by the fair use shield?  The nature of the work borrowed, the amount of the work borrowed and the commercial impact of the amount of work borrowed if it changes the original work’s value, are to be considered.
So if you are confused about all these copyright talks, this video might help you.  It’s fun and quite informative.

Is everything really a REMIX?

Here’s the most interesting point of them all, if everyone wants copyright to be taken seriously, then there would be no new movies or TV series coming out since most movies and TV series produced these days are based on something from the past.  That’s why almost everything you watch these days, you could guess the plot and the ending of the story.

Kirby Ferguson, writer, director, editor, made the series “Everything is a Remix”.  The series is probably the best explanation why copyright laws and copyright crusaders will never prevail.  Think about it, those who want the SOPA and PIPA bills to be passed are those large movie production companies, the ironic thing is, they’re the ones who always use other people’s ideas or works to make new movies, they just add a few different things to make it “new” like turning it into 3D or reversing the roles of the actors.

Case in point, lead by example.  If you don’t want your works to be pirated, don’t pirate ideas.