Today, I read a really interesting article about ASCAP’s (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) decision to make war on copyright infringers. They are calling for an all-out assault on organizations, which support infringers, and thus undermine a creative person’s right to protect their valuable copyrights. Among those organizations are Creative Commons, Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
In a letter to ASCAP members (http://twitpic.com/1zai6e) and (http://twitpic.com/1zai66), the head of ASCAP gave a shout out to its members asking that they support ASCAP, in supporting their rights. ASCAP is a performing rights organization comprised of “creative people who write the music and lyrics that enrich lives in every corner of the world” http://www.ascap.com/about/. It is owned and run by the folks who create the beautiful music we listen to.
Copyright Infringers Are Thieves!
This is a touchy issue for some of us. If you listen to organizations like Creative Commons, Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, they would have you believe that by taking away your rights as a creator and allowing copyright infringers to steal your work and pay you nothing, that that’s a good thing. Even among lawyers, there are those who support infringers, claiming that copyright infringers (THIEVES) have rights too. Why should a thief have rights to you work? I compare it to a thief who comes to your house and robs you of your hard earned valuables, and then turns around and claims, they have a right to your valuables. How ridiculous is that?
Thank God for Lawyers Who HELP Creators.
But then there are lawyers—like me—who believe that the creator should be the final arbiter of his or her creative work. YOU created it; YOU should decide what happens to it. Attorneys like me represent content creators, small business owners, entrepreneurs, the creative voice—those who work really hard to develop songs, books, videos, movies, product, characters and other content for us to enjoy. I believe their right to create and get paid for their creations should be their right alone. Why should someone who has never raised a finger, except to steal someone else’s work, be encouraged to do so, and in some instances, even celebrated for stealing. What if you wrote a song, a book, designed a web site with all the bells and whistles, or created a really cool character? Would it be fair for someone who didn’t contribute to that creative work, to be able to enjoy the benefits without your permission? I think not!
I believe what will start to happen of we continue to dilute the content creators rights in their own work is they will stop creating—then we will be sorry.
What are your thoughts?
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