If you’re on Facebook, you’ve probably seen a statement loaded with legalese that users post hoping to create a copyright protection for their content. It’s based on a belief that the social network company changed its rules so it can exploit the material. A minor, and mistaken, rumor? Perhaps. But MPAA chief Chris Dodd writes on the Huffington Post today that it “provides average Internet users with some insight into the point of view of the creators of movies, music or other artistic endeavors whose work has been subject to online theft” and indicates why “copyright protection is more important than ever.” It’s a sensitive point: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg — like most tech execs — opposed the MPAA’s failed effort early this year to persuade Congress to crack down on Internet piracy. Dodd says that ”it’s critically important that we continue a collaborative conversation with the tech community about how we can protect an Internet that works for everyone….The studios I represent call them audiences and the tech companies call them users, but giving people the best possible experience is a shared goal because at the end of the day, we all report to the consumer.” The misunderstanding at Facebook “is a great reminder of that.”


We don’t need extra redundant legislation because people on Facebook are ill-informed about and don’t understand copyright law.
KC
Chris Dodd is full of shit.
Instead of taking the opportunity to stand up for the rights of consumers, he’s trying to make this about the studios? Who now no longer sell content, but license it to consumers? (You know you don’t actually own any of those iTunes purchases, right?) Who constantly extend copyrights to keep properties like Mickey Mouse and Superman from ever entering the public domain? Who perpetuate the ridiculous myth of “piracy” (it’s bootlegging at worst), which actually has been shown to increase sales, rather than hurt the industry? And don’t even get me started on the rating system.
Maybe start actually respecting consumers instead of treating them like criminals and idiots.
The bottle was opened long ago when entertainment jumped into the digital world. There will be, for good or bad, legislation attempting to stop and/or curtail revenue lost in a space which cannot ever be really controlled.
The problem is that the legislative process operates at the speed of paint drying…while digital is at the speed of light.
and, so it goes…
As an artist and content creator myself, I have to say copyright protection unless you’re rich is non existent. Whether you like the guy or not, he’s got a point. I could steal everything you’ve ever put online, but unless you can afford to take me to court from across the Atlantic, I’d get away with it.