undefined | Better HN

0 pointsazakai10y ago0 comments

Well, that's legally where we are right now.

But we are living in times where IP laws are facing technological problems. For example, no one can copyright a joke and expect to make a fortune off of it, because anyone can hear a joke and repeat it their friends. The joke might reach millions of people, but no one can profit from it. It's unenforceable to limit a joke's distribution. And no one expects to, nor to make a fortune off of a joke. Humans are too good at making copies of jokes.

The same is happening to other media. Anyone can see a clip on YouTube and share it with their friends anywhere else, including Facebook, the topic of this article. With wearable tech, this will get even easier - as easy as repeating a joke, or even easier - just tell your device "record", "stop", and "share". And you've made a copy of anything you can see or hear.

When humans are too good at making copies of anything they can see or hear, the way they already are too good at making copies of jokes, IP law will have to change.

0 comments

1 comments · 1 top-level

acomjean10y ago

IP protection laws were a reaction to the invention of cheap printable works if I remember correctly. The idea is to encourage creation in a world where a copy costs nothing to make.

Youtube clip sharing/embedding is what Youtube is designed to do. You can turn it off on clips you upload. I think the problem here is duplication and passing off someones work as your own for clicks amd/or profit. Corporations do a lot of "clearing" clips that appear in documentaries so owners are compensated and not to be sued.

You are right, Individuals now empowered with their computers have their own duplication and distribution system and love free (who doesn't love free). Thus Napster. DRM makes purchasing less appealing than pirating, gone from music now, maybe someday from video.

Attempts to make individuals responsible for "sharing" was a PR disaster with fines and laws set in the pre-computer days. Even when the media companies won huge settlements from individuals they lost.

This will get more interesting when those 3d printers get better and cheaper and people start trading design files. I'm waiting for a R2D2 design to be shared...