There ya go, Nancy.

The problem comes down to the fact that due to the technology, there really isn’t any way to prevent large scale copying efforts except by draconian and unpopular measures such as SOPA and the RIAA lawsuits, etc.

Nor is there any real assurance that a cultural industry has to exist.  Hong-Kong and China are unfortunate examples where the cultural industry is miniscule compared to the population because it’s almost impossible to make sizable profits that are required sustain the cultural behemoths that enjoy widespread popularity.

With luck, SOPA and PIPA will die on the legislation floor, but I think we have to accept that there are going to be continual efforts to at the very least throw sand into the wheels of  piracy.  Without that sand, it’s pretty clear that if the convenience of piracy and the convenience of purchasing is equal, the majority of young consumers (who are the principal consumers of culture), will choose “free”. 

In order to stay in business, media organizations need to make piracy significantly less convenient, and legislation and lawsuits are their main means to do so.

So: to O’Reilly and others, what would you do, to lead these organizations like Moses through the wilderness? To what promised land do you intend to take them?

What piracy crisis? MPAA touts record box office for 2007
Piracy once again fails to get in way of record box office
Viacom so devastated by piracy that CEO gets $50 million raise
Piracy problems? US copyright industries show terrific health

Etc.

And now copyrights are transmuted into trademarks by corporations who use IP law more and more to profit than to create. In the music industry, touring is becoming a bigger source of revenue. Should we pity the musicians who can now self-publish on the internet? Those who must perform their craft live more often, rather than have it imprinted on discs by a machine? The model is changing. Today’s creators do not have it as difficult as Moliere in terms of making money. The technology and ability to attract national/international audiences now allows creators more opportunity than they would have ever had.

Politicians like Pelosi only think it’s about the money. They misapprehend the real purpose of copyright law and fail to consider whether there really is a problem to be addressed – ie does the current state of affairs discourage creation?

I don’t think any of us are saying IP holders should not be able to sue when others violate the protection afforded to them by law. We do observe when that process is abused – but that’s another matter.

Politicians need to wake up and realize that not all potential violations of IP protection = loss revenue. As has been revealed time and again, most who download were not going to purchase anyhow. And despite this fact, current law allows numerous routes for IP holders to assert their rights.

I think the governments and Big Content have IP goals that have similar outcomes but spring from somewhat different sources.

Content producers want to protect their bottom line from piracy, the future, whatever. That’s clear. What’s not clear is why the government is with them on this, and I’m not sure that the answer is (as it always seems to be) big bags of cash.

I think some smart people in government are taking a close look at the future of the US and the world economy and they’ve concluded that the US simply can’t compete with the overseas manufacturing titans. All that’s left is cultural exports. Music, movies, tv, books. These things are hard to protect especially when they become digital and production constraints largely no longer apply.

So we need a worldwide IP regime that limits copying. It’s that simple. SOPA is one aspect of that, but there are many others. Notice how hard the US works to get DMCA-style legislation passed across the world. The whole point of the that legislation is to make sure the dollars are flowing across the ocean in the US content economy.

We’re just looking at the tip of the spear with SOPA and PIPA.

Radio
Movies
Records
VCR
DVD
CD
Online

Why are they believed for what they need again?