by Elizabeth Cole

Protecting the original works of others is the ultimate goal of copyright law. As the Internet has exploded over the past 25 years, looking ahead to the next 25 holds amazing possibility. Copyright laws will also have to adapt and change as the Internet does. The freedom that the Internet allows will continue to make copyright laws harder to enforce, so they must adapt and change as well. We can make some educated guesses as to what the future might hold for the Internet and, specifically, Internet copyright.

The explosion of speed and connectivity that the Internet provides allows for information to be transferred and shared in a manner of seconds. Copyright laws have had to transfer over the Internet because of this ease of sharing information. Is sending a photograph copyright infringement? Is downloading music copyright infringement? Is posting a picture of Mickey Mouse on your website copyright infringement? The answer to all of these is yes. As the Internet continues to grow and change, will copyright laws become more stringent or more relaxed?

First of all, original material is protected by copyright upon its creation and the creator has exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the work, as well as the right to create other works derived from the original. The material must be “in a fixed tangible medium and be original.” The idea of what is in a fixed tangible form is under question when it comes to the Internet. If something is copied and put on the Internet, is the online copy an original? If something created electronically in a fixed and tangible medium? These questions still have yet to be answered by a court of law.

One of the major acts of legislation regarding Internet copyright is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. The act implements two treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Specifically, the DMCA criminalizes the production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works. The DCMA also criminalizes the act of circumventing an access control, whether or not there is actual infringement of copyright itself, heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet, and limits the liability of ISP’s for copyright infringement by their users. The DMCA allows for protection of the service provider's in the event that their users are infringing on copyright. There are exemptions to the DCMA, and they are updated every three years. Through these exemptions, the DCMA allows for changes as the web changes. When there are infringements on copyright, the ISP's are currently protected. As time goes on, the ISP will become obsolete. The Internet will become one access point for all users. All users will be held responsible for their own infringements.

Looking towards the future, I believe that Internet copyright laws will have to become more relaxed. As more and more people are getting online, more and more instances of borrowed and sharing of material will occur. The Internet is not under the jurisdiction of one nations court system so there is no logical and efficient way to keep track of “where” copyright infringement issues will take place. If the offender is in China and the copyright holder is in the United States, will there legally be a way to make to offender take the copyrighted material down? Although the World Intellectual Property Organization has passed treaties to deal with between borders copyright infringement, not all of the countries of the world are subject to these treaties and the future will inevitably allow for easier infringement from all parts of the world.

Some of the big copyright issues that are being discussed today involve she sharing of music and video, and, more recently, textbooks. The sales of printed textbooks have gone down and the availability of textbooks online is becoming a more common occurrence. After issues such as music copyright infringement and the more recent issues of video on YouTube and e-books, corporations that hold copyrights on popular material have found ways to make their products and services available online for their own benefit. Programs such as iTunes allow for the purchase of music and videos; and sites like Hulu allow for the free viewing of television and movies with the occasional interruption for an advertisement. Companies are adapting to the changes in technology to make sure that their products are protected. In the future, however, I believe that there will be no issues with all of these things being equally shared and available for use at all times by anyone. Advertising will be the main way for companies to make money, as it is today.

Along with international copyright laws, the Internet in general will also continue to change and develop. Access will be allowed anywhere and with any device. The integration of something like the iPhone will become the norm for everyone. This type of technology allows acces to all forms of communication and entertainment in a small package. Everyone will always have access to the Internet and all it has to offer. This allows for the easier acces to copyrighted materials, which in turn can lead to more and more infringement through postings and use of protected materials. All technologies will be available at all times for everyone.

Although there are still parts of the world that have minimal computer and Internet access, as time goes on, those things will change. The whole world will be connected through remote access and location will not matter. Anywhere you are, in any part of the world, the Internet and communication channels will be available. Typing will be left in the past, and tablet functionality and voice recognition will become the norm for access and use of the Internet. I believe that the interface will still look the same, but with the advent of touch screen and voice recognition, the mouse will also disappear. Touching the screen or telling your “computer” what to do will be sufficient enough for use.

With the easy, global access of the Internet, copyrights wil still need to be protected. If there is no protection, there is no incentive for people to create original works. Anyone can claim anything as their own. Protection needs to continue to be enforced, even if not to the full extent it is today.

The future of the Internet is discussed and researched in depth every day. It is hard to say where we will actually be in terms of the Internet in 25 years, but we can be sure that there will be easy access for more and more people. Any and all information will be available online for all to access. The changes in copyright laws will allow for the easy and open sharing of all sorts of information and products. Although the interface is sure to change, the functions of the Internet will be basically the same as they are today: information and communication.


Sources

Guess, Andy. "E-Textbooks for All." Inside Higher Ed 7 Oct 2008. 15 Oct 2008 <http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/10/07/ut>.

Howard, Jennifer. "Textbook Sales Drop, and University Presses Search for Reasons." Chronicle of Higher Education 19 Sept 2008. 6 Oct 2008 <http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i04/04a01002.htm>.

Lipschultz, Jeremy Harris. "New Communication Technologies." Communication and the Law. Ed. W. Wat Hopkins. Alabama: Vision Press, 2008.

Ottaviani, John and Glenn G. Pudelka. "YouTube Lawsuit Raises Novel Internet Copyright Issues." The Licensing Journal. (October 2007): 9-14.

Young, Jeffrey. "Students Flock to Web Sites Offering Pirated Textbooks." Chronicle of Higher Education 4 Sept 2008. 6 Oct 2008 <http://chronicle.com/free/2008/09/4477n.htm>.