Digital piracy does indeed threaten to overwhelm so-called “content” industries. As the power and reach of the internet continue to grow, the illicit trading of perfect copies may well devastate the music, movie and publishing industries. No, not devestate. Transform. There is a difference, but it is up to the firms to make a choice as to which they want. My stance is to repeal copyright altogether. I think it would be a tremendous boon to humanity to have freely flowing content and ideas. At the very least, it would be a grand experiment. But in the interests of practicality and a smooth(er) transition, at least pull back copyright to something more in line with the shelf life of content. Something like 5 years. Economist.com on Copyrights |