Anti-copyright

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Anti-copyright refers to the complete or partial opposition to the copyright laws. Critics of copyright include infoanarchists, anticopyright, copyfight and copyleft groups, and organizations such as Creative Commons and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

"Anti-copyright" is also a phrase without legal meaning which may be placed in anti-copyright statements that are added to works in order to encourage wider distribution.

 

Arguments against copyright

The classic argument for personal copyright is to grant developers temporary monopolies over their works to encourage further development by giving the developer a source of income. Those against copyright suggest that income to a developer should be generated by other means, for several reasons:

  • Making the developer dependent on a system that requires enforcement by force directly ties them to large corporate entities which are able to carry out this enforcement, but may at the same time limit creative output to that which is compatible with corporate ideology.
  • Royalties are based on profit-margin, but when one intends for their data to be non-profit (that is, if the only reason to publish is to share information), it becomes financially unsound to attempt to claim royalties on something you never sold, since the royalties of your product might have royalties from whatever works used.
  • Copyright was intended as, and until recently has been used mostly for, a regulation on commercial and for-profit use of creative works. While technically most copyright laws applied to individuals making copies, it was only the advent of the personal computer that made it possible for individuals to copy significant amounts of information. Some argue that this new ability calls for a fundamental change to, or the abolition of copyright.
  • Enforcement mechanisms such as digital rights management endanger existing consumer rights like fair use, and can be used to further tie creators to the corporate entities that control this technology since even a use which may be legally considered fair use may be hampered or rendered impossible by the technological restrictions. "Trusted computing" platforms may refuse to play, display or execute content that is not properly "certified" by central authorities.
  • Little known creators depend on distribution to become popular—for them, copyright limits their potential outreach, and donations may be a better option. Well known creators can always ask for money from their fans upfront (Street Performer Protocol).
  • Article 8 of the Berne Convention may have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and may force an overseas audience to learn the language that the medium in the question is published in, and can cause a foreign company to act against its overseas audience. International copyright law is regarded as controversial by the video game, anime, and manga communities in the United States and Europe, such as Fan translation, Scanlation, and Fansub.
  • Historically, copyright originated only in the last few centuries. Creativity flourished well before copyright existed.
  • The European Renaissance saw a burgeoning of intellectual talent, the like of which has not been seen since. It occurred before the existence of copyrights, and was spurred by artists copying each other's techniques and works without legal restriction. The argument that copyright law protects and encourages development is seen by many as hype intended to provide moral justification for laws which in fact are there to protect the incomes and wealth of copyright holders, many of whom are not the original developers anyway. The ease and convenience of being able to obtain and preserve many intellectual works across the Internet, it is argued, will lead to greater development if copyright law is abolished. Whilst it may not be possible for popular artists and their agents to make as much money in this scenario, it is likely that popular artists will still be able to make a living by means of advertising and product promotion, as they do at present or perhaps by busking, if that is the only option open to them.
  • While some are in favor of limited copyright terms, copyrights in many countries last for periods longer than a human lifetime and can even be renewed after that. Even if a limited copyright period still offered a beneficial result, long copyright terms hold for longer than necessary.
  • Many argue that copyright is inherently contrary to the ideals of free speech and expression which are valued highly by free societies.
  • Some companies abuse copyright privileges by suing or threatening to sue those who clearly are within their rights under fair use, but who cannot afford to defend themselves in court.
  • Information is not conducive to the same treatment as real property, due to its status as a nonrival good.
  • Frequently, content creators do not hold their own copyrights, instead relinquishing them to publishers, producers, and the like, through contractual arrangements.
  • Social anarchists believe ideas and knowledge should not be owned or controlled, but rather should be distributed freely throughout society for anyone's use (so long as the original creator of these ideas/contributions is properly acknowledged for his efforts). Libertarian socialists have customarily not prosecuted one another for copyright "violations" and usually do not provide royalties when translating or republishing each others works.
  • Copyrights are selfish; they place the good of the one (the creator) over the good of the many (the audience). Instead of allowing a work to be improved and redistributed by those who may be more qualified than the original author, works are restricted in the name of monetary profit. For example, a commercially sold Encyclopedia's content cannot be updated or redistributed by the readers, while Wikipedia's content can be shared with and updated by all people.
  • Copyrights reduce the incentive for developers to continue working, since they can receive an income by collecting license fees or royalties for popular older works instead of developing new ones. Besides limiting innovation, this may also be seen as unjust by workers in other fields, who must keep working if they wish to keep making a living.
  • It is possible for creators to earn income, independent of copyright, by incorporating advertising into their works.

 

Analogy to protectionism

"Intellectual protectionism" is a derogatory term for the expansion of copyright, patent, and similar laws. It is often used as an ironic synonym, as it shares initials with "intellectual property", especially by proponents of free culture, who seek to relax restrictions on distribution of digital works.

Calling these intellectual property laws ‘protectionism’ is an analogy derived from economic protectionism, a practice or policy whereby a country imposes levies or restrictions on imported goods in order to favor domestic markets. The basis for this comparison stems from the argument that:

  • The exclusive rights granted by copyright and patent law constitute a government-granted monopoly.
  • This monopoly is granted in order to incentivize the production of such works and discoveries, purportedly for the public's benefit.
  • There are also public costs in many forms: the making of derivative works is forbidden for the interim;
  • The perpetuation and expansion of such exclusive rights is not cost-effective; it benefits a few (esp. large organizations in the content industry) at the expense of the public, and the public domain.

 

Criticism of anti-copyright arguments

  • Critics charge that in the absence of copyright authors and artists would be under-compensated for their work.
  • The ease of reproduction of intellectual works should not be taken as an excuse to legalize copyright infringement. For example, the Internet has made it easier for anonymous users to commit libel, but libel is not justified by its ease of use.
  • Criticism of interference with fair use, such as may occur with DRM, should not be an excuse to discard copyright altogether.

 

Anti-copyright notices

Statements for waiving copyright are legally required because, under the Berne Convention in international copyright law, works are protected even if no copyright statement is attached to them. However, "anti-copyright" statements typically do not take the form of either sophisticated open content licenses or a simple dedication to the public domain; instead, they may just encourage wide distribution. It is possible to denounce all claims to copyright in a work including moral rights in a written disclaimer.

A formal copyright waiver may state the following:

The author of this work hereby waives all claim of copyright (economic and moral) in this work and immediately places it in the public domain; it may be used, distorted or destroyed in any manner whatsoever without further attribution or notice to the creator.

However a casual anti-copyright notice, as often found in esoteric magazines and books, may simply read:

Anti-Copyright! Reprint freely, in any manner desired, even without naming the source.

The latter is less accurate and needs to be interpreted individually as the term "anti-copyright" has no accepted legal meaning. For example, if just free distribution is encouraged, modification or lack of attribution is still illegal, making the material ineligible for collaborative writing projects like Wikipedia. In such a case anti-copyright is not a true denial of copyright, but just a reduction of the protection it affords copyright holders.

 

See also

  • copyleft
  • FairShare
  • Fair dealing
  • Free culture
  • GNU General Public License
  • Piratbyrån
  • Copyright commandeering

 

External links