Debate Topic:

Copyright vs. Fair Use

“If America's founding fathers had anticipated the digital frontier, there would be a clause in the Constitution protecting your rights online, as well.” - EFF – The Electronic Frontier Foundation

As we consider today’s communications industry, we see large media corporations fighting over who will “own” the Internet. We also see our government fighting to constrain or regulate what is accessible on the Internet. Who stands to lose in this race to dominate and regulate the information superhighway? We do. Meaning, we the citizens of the United States.

With the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in 1998, Congress did more than simply say it would levy penalties against “copyright pirates” and those that produced technology to enable the pirating of copyrighted works. They stifled our free speech, took away our fair use rights, and limited free-market competition – all of which hurts us as consumers of digital media.

Copyright protection under the DMCA now hinders us from sharing music and movies online. It killed Napster; however, it makes organizations like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) cheer. As you consider copyright vs. fair use laws, think about what information you like to access on the Internet. Then, answer these questions: What on the Internet should be copyrighted? What should be freely available?

Instructions:

Pick a side to debate: Argue either in support of DMCA and copyright protection OR in support of fair use where you “trash” DMCA. Both sides should consider the questions posed above AND review the following web links, as well as any other research, that helps them build a credible argument in support of their position.


The Digital Millennium Copyright Act
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/legislation/dmca.pdf

EFF – Electronic Frontier Foundation
http://www.eff.org/

Motion Picture Association of America (Note: Look under “Anti-piracy”)
http://www.mpaa.org/home.htm

Recording Industry Association of America
http://www.riaa.org/

Fair Use in an Electronic Age
http://www.arl.org/info/frn/copy/fairuse.html

Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
http://www.chillingeffects.org

Harvard Berkman Center for Internet & Society
Peer-to-peer Copying
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/ilaw/P2P.html