The Web Philippines
Intellectual Property and Piracy in the Digital Age, August 2001 issue
Are linking policies and terms of use posted by a
site owner enforceable by law?
"This is interesting. I understand that for INQ7, for
example, you can't link to their stories without paying them a fee. Well,
linking is an inherent part of the Web. When you place your work on the
Web, you cannot prevent someone from linking to it. I think linking policies
like these probably suffer from some legal infirmity unless they can come
up with some law which supports the policy. I am not aware of any law
that does that."
In the case of music, when someone makes an MP3 file
of a Rivermaya single and makes it available in a file-sharing network,
is that a violation? And if someone downloads it on her computer but doesn't
make a CD out of her collection nor distribute it, is she violating copyrights?
"Sounds like John Perry Barlow's "An Economy of Ideas",
which came out in Wired some years ago. I disagree that the middle man
like the record companies become useless because of the Internet. That's
an extreme view. I think the more reasonable view would be to say that
record companies need to review their role in the digital age. Certainly
they need to embrace it instead of treating it like a threat. For all
you know, the Internet might be the greatest thing that could ever happen
to them."
This reminds me of the movie "Traffic", where the
daughter of Michael Douglas's character noted that it's easier for teens
to get dope than liquor; the problem has to be stopped at the supply side.
If there's a crackdown on supply, will there be much less demand?
"That's a good analogy - the drug problem. I don't
think the demand for cocaine in the US will dip just because the supply
isn't there. It will just drive up the prices and force users to resort
to cheaper, more accessible drugs like marijuana, or metamphetamines (a.k.a.
shabu). The Americans like to complain about Columbians but the truth
of the matter is that without the huge demand for cocaine into the US.
So, the only way to do it is to curd the demand. How do you do that? I
haven't the slightest idea? I don't agree that people just need education.
People already know that what they're buying is pirated and illegal. Yet
they do it.
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