Microsoft Takes Another Shot At Brainwashing Kids On Copyright Laws
from the educate-who? dept
One of the popular myths coming from the industries who rely on the copyright crutch is that unauthorized content sharing is really an "education" issue. For years, they've insisted that if kids just understood copyright laws, they wouldn't engage in file sharing. To that end, the RIAA likes to claim that its questionable legal campaign is really just an educational effort and has nothing to do with squeezing money out of people with threatening letters on weak evidence. The various lobbying groups have all set up "education" programs that generally appear to be more like brainwashing programs. They tend to be excessively one-sided and students see through the programs pretty quickly.Microsoft itself got into the IP propaganda game a few years ago with a contest asking kids to create a video about how important intellectual property rights were. As if to drive home the point, any video you submitted to Microsoft became its exclusive property. Apparently, that little education campaign wasn't enough, as Microsoft is now announcing a brand new
Now it's no surprise that many people don't understand what the real purpose of copyright is -- but companies like Microsoft are just as bad in not understanding the real purpose of copyright as the teens they accuse of not understanding it. Given all the previous attempts at "educating" children, this new effort won't get very far, but perhaps we can get together and craft an "education" campaign targeted at the various industries who insist we need to be educated on copyright. Anyone want to help? We can kick it off with an explanation of fair use. Then follow it up with an economics lesson about how artificial scarcity limits markets. Perhaps we can even dig into the ways that companies like Microsoft admit they benefit from unauthorized use, while holding a special lesson on how unauthorized use and innovation often work hand in hand. To kick it all off, we can put out a study showing how poorly execs in struggling industries understand copyright. I'm sure that would go over well.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
IP Rights are important
Copyright is the unethical privilege of a reproduction monopoly over published works, it is not a right (despite its name).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yeah!
"Take a Bite Out of Crime®" is a registered mark of the National Crime Prevention Council. "Smell My Throne(SM)" is a pending servicemark of your local IP horder.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
lobbying for Jail time now? gimmeabreak.
Threat Of Jail Time Increases Respect For Copyright, Microsoft Says
Yah, that's a good use of taxpayer moolah. it's a victimless crime.. oh wait, your wallet aches for Extreme Makeover: Wallet Edition
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Great message
Dear future customer:
Microsoft is the Boogie Man and is gonna getcha. What asshats. Good job, Time to buy aapl stock. OSX on ALL Intel is the future.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The Real Education Campaign
Can I make the section that describes how copyright infringement is in no way Theftor Stealing, and that it really is Just copyright infringement?
Ooo, and we have to do a section that also shows people doing other more heinous crimes, and then show how they get penalized less than the guy who uploads a CD.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hahahaha
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
again WTF
Were they also told that the fins are outrageously disproportional and jail time is not currently a punishment for the standard downloader? Hell I don't even know if it's presently a punishment at all. Has anyone heard of anyone going to jail for downloading only?
Were they told that the artist isn't the "content owner" but some big corporation that likes to rip off the artist and the consumer?
Were they told that the "content owner" could make a boat load more money if they embraced file sharing and didn't wast their money on all these fruitless lawsuits?
-July, Boycott the RIAA/MPAA
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Tread carefully Mike...
And ditto on comment #6. These programs are one sided propaganda, nothing more.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
wtf
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Hear, hear. I believe that's what they call "the pot calling the kettle black."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re 9 & 10
Have you read any of the links that Mike has linked to ever?
Or are you just shills spouting FUD?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Don't Talk
You should walk the walk. Surely you have enough business, educational, social and political contacts in your rolodex to put together a pretty awesome response to this nonsense.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Who cares...
After they produce something which is worthy of copying, then they can educate them asses (the masses?)...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Who cares...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Walk The Walk
Apparently, it's not enough to get an education, do some research, collect various supporting evidence, connect and refer to other's relevant work, make arguments, write, and publish free speech on the issues. Now, because you've done this, it clearly is your turn to walk the walk too. Nope...surely not the turn of the poster in #13.
Hey #13 guy, this is like your buddy in college (the one who had all the initiative) planning a road trip to Vegas, booking the cheesy hotel, getting free passes, hooking you all up with some girls he knows at UNLV, and saying "Hey fellas, we can take my car. We leave tomorrow at noon." Then when you pull up to the first gas station, YOU say, "Dude, the gas is on you. Your idea to go to Vegas, bro, walk the walk."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Walk The Walk
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Kids my have better ethics than Techdirt writers
I know my nephews had a sharing program installed. I told them three things:
1) It creates risk from getting trojans etc.
2) It puts the family at risk if any music is shared because of the law suits
3) It is illegal to steal the work of others without paying for it
They actually got all three.
While some of the Disney extensions to the length are more than questionable. The idea that if you can make it digital I should have total right to redistribute, and then receive someone's work without pay is pathetically immature.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Kids my have better ethics than Techdirt write
1)Trojans should never be brought up in these kinds of arguments. I can use that argument to support packet shaping. I can use that argument to push everyone to go back to dial-up.
2)Yep. A low risk, but if you don't want to risk it, there is nothing wrong with that.
3)Yes, it's illegal. It is copyright infringement. It is not theft. We need to keep that separate or they will be able to change the law so that our tax money is used to track people down just so that the RIAA can get more money and not have to spend theirs.
Both sides of the argument need to stop bending the truth and start working with the facts. We would reach a common middle ground so quickly if everyone would do that.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Techdirt education
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If the companies would just take this money that they're spending on "education" and lawsuits and lawyers and give it to a business planner or someone with brains, maybe they would have made it back by now.
Hell, if they took that money and just kept it, it'd probably make up from the lost revenue.
And I agree with #17. TechDirt could make a stance and try to educate the public about the truth, show business models, and call the big companies out on it. They could, even if they wont.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
If the companies would just take this money that they're spending on "education" and lawsuits and lawyers and give it to a business planner or someone with brains, maybe they would have made it back by now.
Hell, if they took that money and just kept it, it'd probably make up from the lost revenue.
And I agree with #17. TechDirt could make a stance and try to educate the public about the truth, show business models, and call the big companies out on it. They could, even if they wont.
One challenge, possibly is that these polled kids don't have jobs because they are not old enough or parents don't give allowance, etc. This in turn, means less expendable income, and may contribute to some of the overall findings of your study. But why did Microsoft take on the responsibility to become the Monkeyboy for RIAA/MPAA/BSA?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
fines and jail time?
A lot of "illicit" activities take place just because they are illicit. People like the challenge and some even get a rush doing it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What is a CopyRight
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: What is a CopyRight
The purpose of copyright at last in the United States is to promote and advances the art and science.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: What is a CopyRight
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
1. Using a P2P program does NOT put anyone at risk of getting viruses or trojans, any more than downloading from a web site does. What puts people at risk is pure stupidity. Like using the default of having Windows hide filename extensions so that you can't tell what a file really is. Or if you still use Windows Media Player with all its hidden ActiveX crap.
3. Copyright infringement isn't stealing, technically or legally. If I see a table that I like in a local furniture store, then I go home and build an exact replica of that table, have I "stolen" it? What if I start mass producing them and giving them away to anyone who wants one?
As for Disney; The extensions to copyright terms that they've lobbied for are downright criminal. Many of their most successful movies have been based on public domain works. As far as I know, nothing that Disney has ever created is public domain and if they get their way, it never will be.
Copyrights were intended to protect the author/artist and ensure that they had a reasonable period of time to profit from their work before it, inevitably, passed into the public domain. This was done to ensure that there would be incentive to create in the first place (profitting from your work), but also to provide incentive to continue creating (because you can no longer profit from older works). Copyright terms that last for the life of the author plus 70-90 years, serve nobody except the large corporations. Because of this, you won't live long enough to see anything created during your lifetime become public domain. Not only that, but ridiculous copyright terms allow a corporation to suppress a particular work until there are no longer any copies to duplicate. Try to find a legal copy of the Disney film Song of the South in the US.
Finally, while I agree that content creators should be paid for their work, I also think the current laws are stacked too heavily in favor of the huge media corporations. For example, why can I legally buy DVDs from another country, but not legally play them, thanks to region coding? Why can my friend not legally transfer a movie from a store bought DVD to his Sony PSP to watch on his lunch break at work? Since my TV only has a single set of A/V inputs, why can't I legally hook up my DVD player through my VCR rather than switching cables all the time, because of Macrovision? Why do Blu-Ray players and HD equipment come with restrictive DRM that dictates what I can and can't do, when pirated copies of every Blu-Ray movie are already available on the net? Why can I watch and record a TV off my cable system for free, but if I download an episode off the net that I forgot to set the DVR for, I'm a criminal? Why is it illegal to download episodes of TV shows from other countries when they aren't available here in the US, either on TV or on DVD? Why VCRs legal, but yet the movie and TV industry keeps pushing for "broadcast flags" to be made into law so that they can control whether a TV broadcast can be recorded, or how many times it can be watched, or how long it can be kept?
Maybe if they made their content available in DRM free formats that could be played on any system/device, people would do the right thing and pay for it. Many people download pirated copies because they don't like the DRM-crippled legal alternatives. Sure, piracy will never go away completely, but giving people what they clearly want is a big step in the right direction.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]