Wednesday 15 January 2014

The Difficulty of Implementing the Copyright Infringement Law


The internet is the biggest avenue for media today because its networks extend all over the world, and easy-to-upload file formats that compress audio, videos and photos make it easier to share original content online. However, it also makes it easy to share someone’s original content online. Copyrights protect the artist, or at least it should. But no one could blame its lack of implementation in the modern world.


Copyright infringement is when a person, establishment or company makes use of any form of media produced by an artist or a recording company to promote any venture they have, even something as menial as uploading a song to set a mood to my personal blog. You will have to pay royalty fees to their record labels, which ensure the artist gets paid their share for being involved in your promotion.

While all this is good business, it does not bode well with modern ideology. Many competitors in the independent department, including games, are giving away their media for free. They do not talk business, but they talk about support. They ask for donations and consider their media as something that the world should only know, but they do not focus on profit.

This is a direct challenge to the recording industry, which focuses on ensuring they get all their profits by approaching listeners on a business-scale model. This challenges copyright laws as well because listeners will only respect these laws if they find the media compelling.

Only a new model of retailing media will be the best way to implement the copyright infringement law. I think maybe if record companies started adopting the models used by independent musicians, meaning they go against them on their own level, they can have a fighting chance.