Intellectual Property

Copyrights are a pain in the butt. They make everything complicated and more difficult to any party involved in a copyright dispute.

This issue has come up many times for me, being a musician. It's always been an issue as to whether or not an ensemble I play with should make more copies of music they've already purchased (most pieces of music actually say that even if you've bought it, you still can't make copies of it), or whether or not we can record our ensemble performing whatever it is we play because many times you aren't really allowed to do that, either. In both of these cases, we do both with only a little bit of guilt. No one really consciously thinks of the harsh consequences. How is the ASCAP going to know?

This problem bleeds into copying music, and also movies or data. CDs and DVDs now are safeguarded with copyright protections (which are easily evaded if you have the right programs). Still, people - myself included - make copies of music and video without really even caring about the consequences. It's so rare to hear of someone being reprimanded for doing this, even though the punishments are pretty well-known.

I can understand the opposite point of view: the creator. Making whatever it is they make is probably how they make their living. But seriously, I really don't take pity on people who can choose whether they should fly to Paris or Rome today, or which car they should buy next.