Thought thieves… they sound like baddies from a 2nd rate science fiction film, but according to Microsoft they exist, and they are out to spoil the fun for us creative types. Of course, many news sources have already pointed out the Microsoft, more than any other company have a reputation for ripping off other people’s ideas and passing them of as their own.
One of the most interesting conversations I had at Sunday’s Copyfighter’s event was this whole notion of “stealing”, in the utterly mis-named context of “Intellectual Property”:
Is it stealing to record a copy of a CD to play in the car, or to load onto a friend’s iPod? The recording industry would certainly want us to believe this. On the other hand, I would also suggest that it is theft for a customer to buy music online only to find that it becomes unplayable when I upgrade my computer or move to a different country because of DRM hidden in the music files.
Every year that media industries extend copyright protection is surely another year that the people are deprived of the public domain. So how do we combat this creeping reduction of our media rights? I propose a three point plan:
- Civil Disobedience: Use Bittorrent, Kazaa, Grokster or whatever your file trading program is to download whatever you want. Every time you buy music in a shop or online from iTunes you are only supporting a corrupt music industry that will use the money you spend to errode your rights.
- Lobby, make a fuss: Write to your MEP, try to get a meeting and tell them how you feel. Support your local information rights organisation, e.g. eff, ffii.
- Make your own media: Write a blog, Make podcasts and DIY videos. Go tapedropping and make stuff thats more fun than the stuff made by the big companies. You could even try supporting your local arts radio station.
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