Spring 2008 25-EP, room 711 7:00-9:30 Thursdays Outline: copyright file sharing whether there is such a thing as "intellectual property" DMCA: Digital Millenium Copyright Act privacy from employers from government security matching / fraud prevention patriot acts from marketers personal profiles rfid from copyright holders (RIAA lawsuits, ISP actions) legal records per-use content management software patents open source software licensing legal issues regarding "click" contracts trusting your software speech encryption dmca software anonymity libel hoaxes trust and the web e-commerce information reliability security: phishing, certificates, etc trusting your software spyware voting & democracy hacking kutztown 13 randall schwartz encryption antitrust issues open source professional issues responsibilities and liabilities talking to your supervisor +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Week 1 January 17 Read: pp 1-4, 10-13 (Eisner testimony), 15-17 (Courtney Love) For week 2: read all of Chapter 1, especially pp 23-34 Midterm, final exam, ~4 papers Plagiarism rules: be sure ALL quotations are marked as such, and also cited. When you write, be sure you organize your points clearly and address the question. Grammar and style count for MUCH less! Summary of issues regarding file sharing discussion of property, and "intellectual property", natural law, the Constitution limitations on copyright biases in the term "intellectual property" theft? napster defense US Copyright law; categories; fair use importance to business & arts David Post: If seven million people are stealing, they're not stealing. Is it ok to download music files? Is it ok to listen to the radio? Is it ok to play the radio at a party? Is it ok to record off the radio? What about TV? What about downloading lyrics? What if I ALREADY OWN THE CD? What if I just want to listen to a song I know my kids are listening to? Does information really just "want to be free"? Is there a conflict between copyright and free speech? ======================= Why isn't the illegal copying of books (eg through photocopying) a major issue? Why wasn't the illegal production of audio cassette tapes (from LPs, radio broadcasts, and live concerts) a major issue? ======================= Is it ok to listen to a friend's CD? Is it ok to give a copy of a track to a friend? Is it ok to give a copy of an entire CD to a friend? Is it ok to let your friend pay you for the blank disk? Is it ok if you just met your friend 30 seconds ago, for the sole purpose of selling the cd, and the price also includes a nominal copying charge? cf Bart & Fat Tony d'Amico scene in Simpsons 8F03, written by John Swartzwelder At work, Fat Tony gives Bart a present, in gratitude for his help with the cigarettes. Bart: Uh, say, are you guys crooks? Tony: Bart, um, is it wrong to steal a loaf of bread to feed your starving family? Bart: No. Tony: Well, suppose you got a large starving family. Is it wrong to steal a truckload of bread to feed them? Bart: Uh uh. Tony: And, what if your family don't like bread? They like... cigarettes? Bart: I guess that's okay. Tony: Now, what if instead of giving them away, you sold them at a price that was practically giving them away. Would that be a crime, Bart? Bart: Hell, no! Tony: Enjoy your gift. ======================= What is ethics all about? Yes/no answers to issues? * identify the issues * identify the STAKEHOLDERS: direct and indirect * identify the general approaches to moral reasoning: deontological v consequentialist What is the law all about? * What the rules are: contracts torts (non-contractual obligations) criminal law * legal safeguards for you or your organization economic consequences of established rules the "rule of law" * how the law is actually being interpreted ======================= Music downloads: What is the LEGAL basis for protection? Copyright Is there such a thing as "Intellectual Property"? Halbert & Ingulli write: Intellectual property is the work-product of the human mind. How about IDEAS are the work-product of the human mind Can ideas (including music) be PROPERTY? What *is* property? (Legal and social definitions) "the right of use, control, and disposition" (Cornell site) the "expectation ... of being able to draw such or such an advantage from the thing" in question [Jeremy Bentham, quoted in Wikipedia] Real property Personal property Traditionally, "real property" is considered much more *tangible*. Nobody can walk off with it, for example. However, easements are a form of intangible real property right. Natural law notion: you have a right to things you have created with your own labor (eg things you have made). You have a right to things you have earned. [John Locke, quoted in H&I on page 30] Natural right to REAL property is slightly hazier in theory, but much more solid in practice. The frontier version of the theory was that you have the right to the land you have settled, developed, and farmed; the practice is that you have the right to use your land as you see fit (subject to zoning, water, and environmental laws). Do we have natural rights to IDEAS? Tradition goes both ways. Ideas meet the Lockian test of things created with your own effort, BUT the idea of a certain way of doing business or the idea of a mathematical formula has traditionally been regarded as in the "public domain". Alternative to natural rights is sometimes called "legal rights" or "social rights": rights assigned by law for a social goal. ========================== US Constitution states (the "copyright clause") Article I, Section 8 - Powers of Congress To establish Post Offices and Post Roads; 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; To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; What is "limited"? ========================== What does this say about the nature of our "right" to our works and inventions? Pretty clearly NOT a natural right. How can it be property, if it goes away? People ask this now, seriously, as if it should be obvious that copyright should be perpetual. "property" suggests all sorts of implications. But how can it be property if you can download the song and I still have everything I had before? Under the law, the notion of "intellectual property" makes perfect sense; there are lots of limited and/or intangible forms of property. But mostly nobody but lawyers is familiar with these. To most people, the word "property" suggests something that is MINE, like the $5 bill in my wallet. Property suggests certain rights: right to determine all forms of use right to legal enforcement right to decide how to dispose of property sell, buy, lease, inherit What about this "limited-time" property? Property-rights view suggests that the limited-time model is a huge concession. But commons view suggests that *any* rights to the creator are a consession. Property-rights view of ideas introduces BIASES. What about "FAIR USE": the notion that some copying is legit. The original notion was to allow exerpting for quotes and reviews. THe use should be relatively noncommercial (educational was best), and should not diminish the market for the original. ============= Suppose we DO agree that songs are a form of property. Does that automatically mean we agree on what THEFT is? A bit of thought makes it clear that the answer is NO: traditionally, the point of theft is that it denies the owner the use of the item. Traditional notions of theft just don't make sense here. What about "unauthorized use"? That's a reasonable first approximation, BUT it opens up a huge can of worms as to what constitutes "authorization" and what constitutes "use". ============ Eisner - CEO of Disney - 2000 [Discussed Week 1] Theft is theft. Movies cost a lot icrave.com: streaming internet b'cast of TV music downloading is as bad as credit card theft Everyone has to play by infringement rules distributing a DVD is no different from stealing newspapers THEFT IS THEFT [creators are entitled to] FULL RIGHTS OF OWNERSHIP Disney believes in technology 5 rules: legislative mandate for technological fixes international protection public education - many don't know it is wrong use appropriate technological measures appropriate pricing does free copying drive down prices? copyright file sharing whether there is such a thing as "intellectual property" DMCA: Digital Millenium Copyright Act ================================================================ ================================================================ Review: legal basis for Property rights John Locke: p 30 copyright is copyright a PROPERTY right? Copyright infringement: * deprives copyright holder of income? would that make copying legal if you simply would never buy? * copyright holder has right to determine distribution? more in keeping with current law Is THIS what Eisner meant when he says "theft is theft"? Why do we have [civil] laws? * protection [criminal law] * justice * allows INVESTMENT as returns are PREDICTABLE Legality in Napster era: napster.com was a clearinghouse for who was online, and what songs they held. Actual copying was between peers. Did that make it ok? Napster figured the RIAA would never bother with individual lawsuits against users. Were they right? Are such suits justified? What evidence is needed for subpoena? Music stakeholders: "signed" musicians record companies independent musicians fans future fans IS napster like radio? Napsterized business model for musicians: make money giving live concerts, not selling CDs. IS THIS REALISTIC? IS THIS FAIR? IS THIS JUST LIFE? ==================================================================