Well, things are always interesting in the world of copyright.
Ever since Napster, copyright has been a popular news item, and the latest outbreak hits a very popular service - hand's up if you have played 'Scrabulous' on facebook!
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006312.html
Quick poll - how many feel Hasboro and Mattel are justified with their request? Why?
We'll get into the legality of the ownership of ideas later....but for now I have to ask a question.
Is there any logic or reason behind the question 'Whose idea was that?'
Property – anything you own
Ownership – possession of property
Obviously property and ownership are dependant on the each other
Often people will point to the value of property, or the existence of legal documents defining property as the key defining factors.
Some of my most valuable property includes photos of my children, or artwork they created when they were very young, it really has no monetary value, no legal documentation of ownership but it is definitely ‘mine’.
Obviously a good definition of property must include things that have no monetary value or legal documentation.
Does property have to be a physical good? The artwork and photos I described would certainly be considered ‘tangible’ goods.
Other valuable property would be ‘money’ – money is something that is easy to understand – we can touch it, feel it, it states right on it how much it is worth. Money is easy to define as ‘property’. What about the money we have in a bank account? That money isn’t really sitting there in a vault, it is really just a notation on an account….an agreement that if we walk into the bank and ask for that money, the bank will go out and find bits of paper that add up to that amount. Money is, for the most part, an example of intangible property. As much as we may dislike the mad scramble to get more money, I doubt many people would desire a world where there was no ownership of money.
Perhaps the idea of property could be defined by the physical ability to control it? A car for example is protected by locks – we can control the car because we have a key.
I have a friend who works for an insurance company assessing the effectivness of those locks. His job is basically to ‘steal’ cars all day long. He can open and start just about any car in seconds – locks are completely ineffective against his knowledge. Does this mean that he ‘owns’ every car? Does this in any way diminish my ownership of my car?
If you own land you have control over who can access the land – easy to do for a small tract, but next to impossible for a large area. What about people who simply walk over your land – very hard to control that, technically as the owner you should be able to but the reality is not so.
I have come to the conclusion that the fundamental element defining property and ownership is the recognition of others that any thing is ‘owned’ by someone. My property is mine because everyone else acknowledges and accepts that it is mine.
For a more thorough description of property, have a look at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property
Dan
Hello everyone,
I am going to begin this seminar with some simple questions - who are you and what do you own?
Myself - I have been working with copyright issues for close to fifteen years, helping educators bring relevant content into their classrooms - legally. Over this time I've yearned for a simple answer to the dilemas facing copyright owners and copyright consumers, as I've grown older, and hopefully wiser I've realized that every case is truly unique, with many differing yet valid answers - depending on how you approach the issue.
As far as my ownership - I own a house (excepting the part that still belongs to my bank), I own two cars, a computer and some really cool radio control airplanes! I also own the copyright on some musical compositions and a wide range of writting - now if only I could find a buyer!
This seminar will be a discussion of Intellectual Property, as it exists in todays economy. I am very much hoping that this will be an inclusive discussion, and as such I am asking you to introduce yourselves - and what you believe you own!
In Anticipation,
Dan
Hello Everyone,
As I look at the outline of our chapter, one phrase comes to mind "What have I gotten myself into?".
There is a lot of work to do, but we need to keep or mind on a key word here 'collaboration'
For the last ten years I have been working with copyright issues in education. From the first days of the Cancopy licenses, working with hard copy reproductions till now - dealing with online rights issues, DRM and other fascinating subjects! Recent history has me blogging my thoughts, opinions and general ramblings on these issues - Rights, Fights and other online occurances. My first tasks for everyone involved - please introduce yourself here, and please try to find more people to collaborate with!