Don’t Be A Copyright Ostrich

Published: May 31, 2005

Now that ripping and burning music, movies and other content is about as easy as sending an email, it’s time for us all to kiss the idea of not paying for content goodbye. It’s time to grow up and become responsible RIP and BURN citizens of the world. And that means teaching our kids to do the same.

Just two short years ago Steven Jobs stood in front of a crowd at MacWorld and heralded the Rip. Burn. Mix era. Apple wasn’t alone; most of the major PC and hardware companies were dancing themselves silly because they could provide their customers with tools to make anything they could get their hands on into their own digital content and then take it with them wherever they went. For hardware companies this was the greatest incentive to buy a new PC since the birth of the Apple IIe.

Now don’t get me wrong. The hardware companies didn’t tell anyone to go out and steal music and movies. They just made it very easy, and didn’t do a thing about educating users not to steal. To borrow a word used with other socially unacceptable behaviors, the hardware companies were enablers. While I don’t want the comparison to get out of hand, giving a teenager a CD or DVD burner or MP3 player without educating them about the right way and wrong way to use it is not that much different than giving them a fast car, a shot of tequila, or even, heaven forbid, a gun without the proper instruction. It’s irresponsible.

Hardware vendors conveniently looked the other way as consumers flocked to sites like Napster (in its original incarnation), Morpehus and KaZaa to grab and share music and movies, peer to peer style. And if you think all that ripping and burning didn’t have an effect, just take a look at CD sales. They’re down about 11% from last year and about 20% over the last two years, according to RIAA data.

There’s still plenty of free stuff on the web, but the heyday of free downloads of copyrighted material is quickly coming to a close, for three reasons. The first is because so many groups are working to educate and inform the public about illegal copying and its ramifications. The second is because there are some affordable and legal alternatives. The third is because the law is cracking down on illegal copying.

The credit for turning the table belongs to a few forward thinking companies like Gateway Computers, who were early advocates of education with campaigns like Rip. Burn. Respect. Today sites like iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster 2.0 have legitimized legal downloading, proving that artists and the services can make money without making users feel ripped off or overcharged. Sites that let you download movies are relatively newer, with. Movielink (owned by some of the big movie houses) leading the pack. On Movielink, a download can cost as little as $2.99. It can be seen immediately, or saved to disk for a certain length of time. And now that Pandora’s box is open and people want digital media everywhere, it’s likely we’ll see peer-to-peer sites where you pay a fee and you can share music with your friends in the near future.

While education and good pay-per-download sites have helped, sadly it was probably the threat of being sued that woke parents up. A study by the Pew Charitable ( http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=109 ) this month reported that downloading illegal music was on the wane, citing the RIAA’s enforcement of it’s new policy to sue illegal users as a major deterrent. The specter of having a criminal record on their kids’ college admissions application was probably the catalyst that forced parents who didn’t know a Kazaa from a Kazoo to have “the download conversation”.

When I meet kids and parents who are reluctant to “clean up” their disks and go legal, I’m amazed at the excuses they can generate. The kids harbor a longstanding grudge against the record companies for charging exorbitant CD prices. They say the rock stars are too rich anyhow. I’ve heard parents use the old “kids will be kids” excuse. I’ve heard other parents say they love free downloads because the kids weren’t bothering them for music money. And, I’ve heard from still others who are proud of their children for turning them on to Kazaa and its act-alikes. It’s time for the excuse generators to stop. It’s wrong and illegal to download music or movies for free when they are copyrighted property.

Free copyrighted content will go the way of free love before it — a group of aging people sitting around and reminiscing about the good old days when content was shared freely without any regard for the consequences. And just like free love, free copyrighted content has had its fallout. We’ve somehow raised a generation of kids who believe that all content should be free and that artists will get compensated from those corporate suits in the sky or the few who want to pay full price after the free sample. The hardware industry should take its lumps of coal for not doing more to educate consumers sooner. But, now that they’ve begun to poke their heads out of the sand, its time for parents and kids to follow suit.

What To Say to the Kids?

1. Tell them that copyright law is really complicated but it is both illegal and immoral to steal other people’s property — intellectual and physical. Not all, but the majority of songs, movies, artwork and published articles and books are copyrighted. There are situations where “fair use” allows you to use a piece of a work that belongs to someone else without payment. To find out more about Internet copyright visit:

http://www.a-w.org/
The American Library Association
The Motion Picture Association of America

2. Ask them to show you where they get their music or movies from and together, determine whether they’re in violation.

3. Establish house rules about downloading copyrighted materials.

4. Discuss legal alternatives and options and maybe even provide a digital entertainment allowance.