Information has proved to be a vital element in managing world affairs since the industrialization period. The development of different means of communication has led to various laws and regulations regarding the spread of information. These changes have been brought about by various political, cultural, and economic factors affecting the world. One of the significant elements established to manage the spread of information was the concept of copyright, which started in Europe after the invention of the printing press. This concept gave the government the power to determine the kind of information to be published. The invention of the printing press led to the mass production of information materials. The authenticity and originality of these materials became one of the main concerns that led to the growth of media piracy. This paper analyzes how piracy and copyright have developed and play a significant role in information control.
Communication played a significant role during the industrialization period. The need for the free flow of information from one place to another was essential in sharing ideas. The industrialization period established different societies and the power governing these societies. This led to the emergence of different schools of thought that significantly influenced information sharing. For instance, societies familiar with the Marxist theory of critical political approach were more in control of the produced material. The level of power and control often identifies capitalist states that they exercise over their subjects. Controlling information being spread in a state was an essential part of power demonstration in capitalist states to ensure that the government was in control over the vital elements governing the states. This sense of media control played a significant role in developing the concept of copyright. There was a need for clarity of the ownership and source of most of the spread information.
The development of new media enabled the quick production and distribution of information, making it easier to copy and share information from other sources. One of the defining concepts of modernization was the advancement of technology. It changed the political and social landscape of the world and transformed the media in terms of production and the spread of information. The significant and rapid transformation of the media prompted the government to initiate regulatory policies to protect authorship and ownership of information. Political economists considered the sharing of published material a violation of personal privacy, thus influencing the need to create copyright laws.
One of the challenges presented during media and the printing press was piracy. Piracy has often been viewed as a liberal concept in a capitalist state. Restricting access to information through policies such as copyright meant interfering with people’s freedom to knowledge (Eckstein & Schwarz, 4). While capitalists struggle to control most of the essential elements of the state, including the media, liberals have been working on the contrary. This has developed many counterfeit goods and materials to undermine the capitalist nature of self-interest.
Technological advancement created a conducive environment for conducting media piracy. The need for media to connect to a wider audience exposed it to piracy. It made accessing material for duplication easy, thus enabling pirates to distribute the material to the locals faster than the owner of the material. Technology has enabled pirates to create a viral infrastructure of spreading counterfeit material. Pirates’ infrastructure is made simple and easily accessible by the general public compared to the original material (Eckstein & Schwarz, 38). This makes it difficult for the original information to circulate on the market on time. Piracy has continued to flourish in the chaos it has created in the media industry. Inconveniences created by piracy have stripped the media of its space in the market and limited the ability of governments to control the spread of information.
International relations have played a significant role in developing copyright and piracy laws. Domestic laws made by sovereign states concerning information authorship and media ownership tend to be compatible with those made by international regulatory bodies. This has seen the development of enforcement agencies that track pirates in the media industry. For instance, the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) has been essential in coordinating the activities of different states on the laws that govern media and the spread of information (Boyd-Barrett, 39). this international body has been designing governing principles based on the media market dynamics. One of the principles includes every nation’s right to develop independent information systems to protect their cultural identity and sovereignty. This principle allows nations to regulate foreign media by filtering restricting information they consider contradicting their nation’s interests. Other international bodies such as the United Nations through UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) advocate for the freedom to access information regardless of the international boundaries (Noam, 109). However, this declaration often interferes with the domestic interest of the member state. Most member states advocate for the state media monopoly and restrictive actions on media that contradict national interests.
In conclusion, media copyright has played a significant role in advocating for the originality of information and fighting piracy that has equally gained root in media. The development of technology and the concept of modernity have positively and negatively affected the spread of information. Capitalism and liberalism have also promoted the notion of copyright and piracy, respectively. However, through international relations, nations continue to work collaboratively to fight piracy and advocate for control of the spread of information.