An Attempt at Finding the Balance: Creative Commons

Image taken from:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Palmtree3000

I came across Jamendo while watching a video on YouTube. I happened to like the background music used and I ended up downloading the same, legally.

Yes. The words “free” “legal” and “download” can harmoniously co-exist in a sentence and made possible by the Creative Commons licenses.

A CC or Creative Commons license is based on copyright. However, unlike the traditional and encompassing “all-rights reserved” ,  it creates a more flexible copyright model for the modern day creator by transforming it to “some rights reserved”. Depending on the creator, there are six types of licenses to choose from. These licenses allow creators to communicate which rights they reserve, and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators -such as but not limited to copying, distribution and derivative works. Generally anything that can come under the traditional copyright can be covered by CC such as books, websites, blogs, photographs, films, videos, songs and other audio & visual recordings, just to name a few.

In an era where media is created and transformed by remixes and mash ups, there is a need for a more flexible way of protecting the owners against intrusions brought about by technological advancement. This is where CC supposedly comes into play -by giving the creators the freedom to choose how their work is to used. In doing so CC aims to "develop, support and steward the legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing and innovation."

While CC may address some of the issues concerning intellectual property, it does not totally eradicate the copyright wars and the prevalent infringement which are top concerns in the age of globalization and information technology. These issues are best addressed by policy makers, with the assistance of nonprofit organizations who have in-depth knowledge of the matter at hand. Like in all things, balance must be achieved between restriction and permission. Until such tension is attained CC is an alternative method upon which creators/owners can protect themselves and remixers to find new material without violating the law.

Fore more information, please visit http://creativecommons.org/

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Entry No. 11

Soleil Flores

Aftermath of Shutting Down Limewire

"They shut Limewire down!!"

Some people expected pandemonium to ensue or for public outcry to undo the court decision. Not surprisingly, a mere two months after the fact and the news has already become blasé.

Why? Because we can move on. Where the law beats down one network facilitating intellectual property violations, ten other facilitators rise in its place. People's knee-jerk reactions of "Is it true? Why? Since when?" were quickly replaced with "What do I do now? What can I use now? And where else can I get free music and videos?" To the relief of many there were ready answers.

I first thought about this phenomenon when I was still irritated with Wikipedia's cry for help. I figured if Wiki couldn't get the funds it needed then it could go ahead and shut down because the truth is, others will take its place. It's quite the same with all this hullabaloo about youtube videos being taken down and file sharing networks being closed. Someone will take their place. The venues will be as hush hush as the beginnings of limewire and youtube conversion but then they'll gain popularity, annoy the rights-holders, be declared illegal too, and be replaced with cannier ways to get free downloads. It's a vicious cycle.

Where does fault lie? I thought that fault lies in the ineffectiveness of our law-enforcers to implement the law and the inability of citizens to abide by the law. The law is clear and so I bought into the mindset that everyone else was wrong. We are a global society of freeloaders and I trusted that to be wrong.

But I'm waking up to the reality that our culture is one of rapid sharing and quick access. Free products are good but it's not the driving force of this file sharing revolution. Creators have the capacity to enter into the picture and cater to the desires of the public while still obtaining incentives. And so I lay blame on a new culprit: the law itself. Our law itself is ignorant that the ultimate goal of intellectual property law is achieved through online file sharing. Because of this ignorance, the law has not created incentives to creators in this new medium.

The cycle of file sharing facilitation continues with Frostwire, torrent downloads, and numerous other sites and programs available online. The death of one brings life to ten. To end this cycle therefore, there is a need not for prosecution but for collaboration. When the law learns to collaborate with these facilitators then we can start to build a new regime of intellectual property rights protection.

Maricris L. Real

Entry #8

Death of the Compact Disc

Source: http://offthemark.com/search-results/key/music+downloading/

SPICE by the Spice Girls was the first album I bought with my own savings when I was back in grade school--a cassette tape. The first CD I bought, with my and my sister's savings since CDs back then were expensive, was by The Moffats. (Yeah yeah, laugh all you like) And yes, I can clearly remember those years when CDs was the trend that I made it a point to buy all the albums of my favorite artists.

Then law school came and I lost hold of the world of music and my passion for collecting CD albums. But it is definitely not law school which ultimately killed it.

A 2010 year-end roundup of album sales in the United States shows that for the fourth straight year, CD sales dropped by 20 percent. Is it really as bad as it sounds? It is.

It is recently found out that "Only 13 albums managed to attain million-selling platinum distinction, compared to the 22 platinum albums that earned it in 2009, which in itself was a paltry total compared to the glory days of compact disc megasales--remember when 'N Sync debuted with 2.42 million sold in a single week? (The year was 2000.) Eminem's "Recovery" was the past year's top-selling album with 3.4 million copies, also not impressive, especially when matched up against the 10 million copies "The Marshall Mathers LP" sold a decade ago. Of those 13 platinum albums in 2010, only four sold over 2 million copies." (Click here for the article)

Music producers and artists alike point to the formidable advent of illegal file sharing as the culprit. Their pleas were heeded as some file sharing systems such as Limewire have already been ordered closed.

Source: http://offthemark.com/search-results/key/music+downloading/

Listeners, however, point their fingers to the music companies themselves, claiming that file sharing has only opened up the eyes of  consumers to the fact that nowadays, music just sucks. Why buy an album when you can find out through the Internet that there are only a few good songs in it? But it is also a harsh reality that most listeners now simply choose to illegally download because it is free.

Having no time for music (apart from being a self-confessed techie idiot), I honestly cannot remember having downloaded music myself. Yes, I may have copied and shared music from friends who, without my knowledge, actually illegally downloaded them; but heck, I do not own an iPod, not even a cheap mp3. I simply listen to the radio.

So, when was the last time YOU bought an album?

- Phebean Belle A. Ramos, entry #8 

Good News, Bad News

Here’s something to cheer you for the holidays—or not.

Good News: People who download illegally may seek refuge in a new business model. According to the New York Times, FreeAllMusic.com will allow users to download songs for free without any digital rights management restrictions. The only trade-off ? One has to first endure watching 15 to 30-second advertisements.

Bad News: It’s not available in the Philippines—at least, not yet.

But just as plagues like the A(nH1N1) reached Philippine shores in no time, there’s reason to hope that this business model will be available here soon.
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6th Entry
Ralph Vincent Catedral