In last week’s podcast, we ended up chatting quite a bit about copyright. Somewhere along the way, we mentioned it would be a good topic for a future episode.
The future is now!
This week, it’s all about copyright, trademarks, and patents. Do they help the little guy as intended, or have they now become a method of coercion used by large corporations? In a world where rulings against people downloading a handful of music files illegally amount to greater penalties than a negligent doctor killing a family member, it definitely seems like corporations have the upper hand. But is that truly the case? What would a world without copyright, trademarks, or patents look like? And how do Creative Commons licenses factor into all this? Oh yeah, and we talk about piracy. Quite a bit.
It’s a controversial topic, and we look forward to hearing what you think in the comments!
Note: Yes, Christopher knows he calls Disney’s Steamboat Willie “Boxcar Willie.” Twice! That’s because he’s never more than 7 minutes away from having hobos on his mind…
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I believe we’re in a copyright transition. I envision a future in which big corporations no longer have incentive to go after independent artists.
Christian Louboutin shoes have the red undersoles. 🙂
“Clowns can do things.” Gee, thanks for reminding me. : /
CM — I think that’s where you, Christopher, and I agree — big corporations shouldn’t be able to prey on small, independent artists. Copyright was meant to protect those small artists without access to a legal team.
Also, clowns are totally creepy. I’m surprised I haven’t run any down with my car.