Intellectual property protection is being used to stymie innovation, to keep old business models intact, and to control knowledge. Last week Attorney General Gonzales announced new legislation that would criminalize intellectual property protection:
Gonzales: As we know, the strength of the American economy is dependent on the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of our citizens. At the heart of that spirit is the dedicated protection of intellectual property - and the innovations, jobs, and productivity that flow from it. source: Department of Justice
Moreover, the government is shifting from civil protection of property, which focused on recovering damages, to criminal protection, which will focus on punishing violators, including those in the gray areas of the information economy.
Gonzales: I'm pleased to announce that we've just sent to Congress important legislation to address the problem of intellectual property crime: the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2005. This is a comprehensive legislative package designed by the Department of Justice to help overhaul and update America's intellectual property statutes. It is a reflection of the sustained commitment on the part of the Department and the Administration to ensure that we are doing everything we can to combat this problem.
The proposed legislation marks a major shift in intellectual property controls. Note the words "intellectual property crime."
We also propose to strengthen restitution provisions for victim companies and rights holders, in order to provide maximum protection for those who suffer most from these crimes.
Them's who are suffering ain't no you or me. It's the Disneys and Microsofts of the world who suffer most from these "crimes." And while they do have a right to intellectual property, they are also part of the problem. It was Disney that got copyright protections extended to last 70 years, as part of a possible ploy to keep extending copyrights forever, keeping most works from every making it to the public domain. And Microsoft used its control of the computer industry to gang up on competitors and to run an illegal monopoly. The big studios and software giants, along with biotech firms, don't just seek fairness in intellectual property laws, but advantage. Additionally, the entertainment industry is writing its own death notice by seeking criminal laws and government protections to put off the demise of its current business model. Stupid.
The really scary part of the new proposed legislation is this: The intent to illegally copy materials would constitute a crime. Watch out all you hackers.
It's possible to protect the creators of art and culture from having their livelihoods stolen from them without resorting to this kind of legislation. And it would actually benefit the US economy to free up information, actually limiting the scope of intellectual property rights, rather than to close down information sharing and dissemination.
Cross posted: Political Porn