mhhfive - Certainly, getting rid of copyright middlemen like ASCAP and BMI could streamline the process. On the other hand, somebody has to handle calculations and enforcement.
While creative people deserve to get paid, perhaps copyright -- regulating copies -- is no longer the answer. For one thing, the Internet is a copying machine -- every time you look at a Web page or view a video, you're making a copy and theoretically violating copyright.
Google's "do no evil" theme seems to be growing thin as decades pass and the company gains more and more power.
Google has acted as a copyright cop on Youtube for years, now carefully screening music to make sure users aren't placing copyrighted material online without permission.
But, on the other hand, it's own actions, now the photo and books search feature is seemingly bypassing protections to authors and artists. Google can argue there's nothing new or dangerous to copyright protection, but in the end Google is just making it's search features more one clickable.
And who's going to argue with making things easier for the vast majority of users? A few artists and writers? At some point, there's sure to be some governmental intervention I would guess, to sort out just what's fair and just to everyone.
I think that Google purposely stays away from the idea of taking written work and not properly attributing it because of the way that they make money. Believe it or not, they still derive a lot of their revenue from those text ads that the unsuspecting still click on. As for images? I'm not sure exactley what their strategy is there. But I think we've all seen what they have done with video: you guessed it, ads.
...I have utilized the site for some of the projects I have worked on. As someone who is well aware of the need to acknowledge the source, respect the copyright and acknowledge, I try and be very dilligent in what I use. Just like all other resources, we have to live up to Gandh's admonition to " Be the change you want to see in the World"...and we can--although I think that sometimes view myself as naive....
Not necessarily so, mhhfive. As a photographer, I might give permission to a site to display my images. I don't think I therefore give permission to anyone else to take them and display them.
And the idea that nobody could ever reasonably claim loss of earnings when their work is stolen is legally radical to say the least.
Diplomats are not going to replace their translators with Google Translate any time soon....
Let's hope not: We already have enough trouble when, I think, each side knows what the other is saying! Relying on a machine to transate would be really dangerous!
the less we pay translators, the fewer professional translators we have.
Again, I'm not sure how the logic here works. Professional translators are NOT threatened by automated translations. I seriously doubt any business transactions are done with Google Translate! Automated translations have their use, and actual human translators have a very different use which is worth a LOT more. Diplomats are not going to replace their translators with Google Translate any time soon....
if we make it harder for people to make money with creative work, then we're going to have less professional-quality creative work.
I'm not sure how that really works... Most royalties are handled by associations or publishers (eg ASCAP, BMI, etc), and it's actually a really convoluted process that isn't exactly easy. Getting rid of these "royalty middlemen" might actually make it easier for markets to commission new works. Maybe it won't be as easy to retire after a one-hit wonder, but then again, people will be able to sing "Happy Birthday" in restaurants...
What's the value of just one photo? Ask the photographer who took a picture of the flag raising at Iwo Jima. Or of John Jr. saluting JFK's coffin.
The flip side of this is it's ALREADY easy to grab photos from the original web page. Just download them or take a screenshot. So can Google really be blamed for removing that very small extra step?
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
Recently, the Obama administration has been of two minds where privacy rights are concerned. On one hand, you have an administration that vowed to veto CISPA and mandated open data for government websites. On the other hand, you have an increasingly out-of-control Department of Justice on a fishing expedition at AP and demanding legislation to let the FBI wiretap private, encrypted communications and levy fines if a company fails to comply.
The apartment and house sharing service, Airbnb, now requires members to verify their identities by demonstrating a presence on the web, and by either scanning a government ID or entering detailed personal details. Other enterprises should take a close look at Airbnb's verification policies.
Facebook advertising is a lightning rod. It seems neither brands nor consumers are 100 percent happy about the social media site's policies, placement, or procedures. But the real controversy about Facebook ads and promotions is over whether they work.
By now, you've most likely heard about the 3D-printed gun that Texas-based Defense Distributed demonstrated last week. But we haven't heard the last about the censorship war that began soon afterward.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Subsidized handsets, rather than locked handsets, should be the focus of regulators. We're not getting good deals, not fostering innovation, and weakening our power as buyers.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE! REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site – as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?
To save this item to your list of favorite Internet Evolution content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
