Introduction
In his book, Remix, Lessig portrays the gap between remix technologies virtual minimalism and the copyright law. Lessig emphasis currently is only set for digital media every time an imaginative work is in digital field is utilized, copies are easily enabled through technology. The precise of digital technology and amateur utilization not standardized enough thus its roles gets only limited for professional usage (Lessig 2009).
Lessig maintains that advancement in multi-media sector and knowledge has become the nowadays form of literacy (vernacular of today) thus taking the part of reading and writing. Children who are brought up in places where these technologies have taken every part of life may not understand why “remixing” should be termed illegal. Lessig adds that the amateur progression within the digital period cannot be halted but only put under laws. Thus, the bitter outcome from this knowhow is that the coming children grew up in what they term as “illegal”. That conception has brought social allegations which have gone ahead of copyright wars.
The Cultures of Read Write and Read Only
The culture of read only is described as the culture people take in a submissive manner regardless of the degree of submissiveness. Naturally the analog technology supported the Read Only models of culture’s business, its allocation and the inadequate duty of that to consumers in need (Lessig 2009).
Lessig claims that digital technology does not come with natural analog restraints preceded by it. That is what was once termed illegal and implacable is currently just considered illegal. A good example for this is the iTunes Music store which was guarded by the Digital Rights Management while it offered its digital music.
Currently, the majority of us would never plan our schedules within specific programs because of their online availability even when charged. Lessig illustrates with its Amazon usage that the progression of entertainment and its promotion lays on targeting the customer demands and bringing their preference products.
Unlike the Read Only culture, the Read-Write culture has a mutual linkage between the producer and its consumers. Handling of tasks like songs and perfecting them in confidential circles reviews of ways of Read-Write culture which was taken as a common culture before the coming of reproduction expertise. The immediate following of copyright laws and technologies however altered the flow of popular culture (Carl 1979). This became advanced with people being trained of how to suspend their productions to professionals.
Lessig utilizes blogs to explicate the three levels of that democratization. Blogs have shaped the association towards the stable industry as they permitted the non-professional content (William 2004). The remarks attributes which immediately proceeded offered an opportunity for readers to create a dialogue with the amateur dealers. Hence tagging of the blog users on the content foundation, offered the required layer of the users, the opportunity sort their huge content depending on their interests.
This paper will focus on copyright wars which endangers the survival of certain American industries. Copyright war is significant to a healthy culture since it inspires certain forms of originality. In its absence, there would be a poor culture. When copyright laws are properly balanced, incentives are created and this helps in the production of great new works. However, these wars are not real arguments for survival though considered real for certain businesses. We must therefore ensure that the benefits obtained from this war are more than the costs. These wars however promise authors and artists the protection guaranteed by the copyright system.
The Remix
Lessig argues in nowadays the digital culture has completely filled our lifestyle to a huge extent. This has left to answer the thesis statement “whether it is possible to make Art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy”. For instant, an average teenager can take an hour every weekend day to use the computer for leisure purposes while he spend only 7 minutes reading. Lessig insists that it is still not a surprise to view other creative forms progressively becoming dominant forms of writing. The earlier generations utilized textual quotes to establish on writing whereby nowadays collage or quoting processes have collapsed due to digital media (Lessig 2009).
People have resulted into coming with varying content from several sources to come up with something new. This kind of expression has some power as expressed in Lessig eyes. It is understood that their implications does not come from their content but from their reference which is only realized only when the original gets into utilization (William 2004).
Lessig portrays the remix incident crucial in formation of cultural insight and a significant analysis of advertising and media which influences our daily life. However, as the things are today, the copyright restrictions will bring down the edification which has been put into use in these digital forms of literacy especially within those institutions halt any forms of illegal practices.
Cultures of our Past and Future
It is clear that changes in culture are happening and these changes can’t be evaded. The future will be obviously different from the past and the present therefore not everyone who had a role in the past is guaranteed one in the future. What was once a precious role or well paid career can really just vanish from the landscape.
If consumers of culture can get all the text, music and video they want without having to pay, then a problem arises as to why they should impart money into the cultural economy to pay for those intellectual goods and services. They wonder whether quality is worth paying for and whether what’s available for free is already of sufficient high quality to make it good enough to meet their wants. If these consumers reject spending money on these properties directly, then this leads to decreased chances for creators and conciliators to earn much income.
The trade- off between the past and the future has led to an acute confusion. Nevertheless, there is hope in unexpected synthesis of the past and the present creating a phenomenally more successful future. The future could either be read only or read and write and could see the surfacing of an economic enterprise that has been uncommon in the past.
Profit Making Economies against Sharing Economies
The commercial economy/profit making economy is realized when the products in market are controlled by the market principles. That means both products and services contain a substantial economic importance whether labor or money. This kind of economy has been highly attributed by internet as the gateway in which the business thrives.
This has enhanced the existing economy and more so acted as the foundation in which other several major businesses thrive. This usually favored some businesses by offering a broad range of products which are accommodated in one particular space. Another good example for a successful digital commercial is Google which has come up with its novel values from which other businesses formed.
Similar to commercial economy, the sharing one extend into digital field. Lessig has given a good example of Wikipedia. This is where most of the websites depend on the consumers’ involvement. This ranges creating and editing of its content and no payments are done.
Hybrid
The three kinds of hybrid portrayed by Lessig are are community spaces, collaboration spaces, and communities.
Community Spaces
Lessig cites some of the progressive community spaces which cater for their users requirements. These involve YouTube, Craigslist, Flickr, and Dogster among others. These sites on the other hand respond back to their users through self-regulation and content allocation upon flagging its undesired substance. These sites earn revenue via advertisements though are keen not to interrupt with their users.
Collaboration Spaces
Collaboration spaces work on the same goal of achieving a certain target based on its users’ belief. For instance, the volunteers Usenet users who assist those in need of help technologically by solving computer problems is a good example as given by Lessig. Those contributes are not paid or known through they have a great impact to help other big companies like Microsoft grow. They are not involved in any business apart from sharing their proficiency to help its users.
Within this group, Lessig also informs of the known Heather Lawyer 2000 after the commencing of fan site by teenagers though later threatened for inappropriate utilization of copyrighted substance. Nevertheless, the minimal control of site’s content enables its users to correctly use their content whilst promoting it at no costs.
Communities
Lessig emphasizes that those communities are not established on forfeit but both side of producer and consumer have to gain. Where the parallel economies thrive, Lessig adds that there is not mutual exclusion. Most of the artists, who at first licensed their work with the CC license, enabled them share and remix their task in the time acclaimed (Lessig 2009). This has enabled them to utilize their drive in this visibility and deal with commercial economy.
Lessig cautions that the hybrid economies ought to do well to evade on what he referred as sharecropping, referring to those corporations who compelling the remixer to give up go-ahead to his formation provided they don’t have the entire rights from their components in case they organize to commence their work for business purposes.
Conclusion
Lessig , in his final remarks of “reforming us”, he emphases on the importance of moving forward amidst the ridiculous copyright wars which he insists are not helpful to the coming generations hence the great need of putting some limits to governmental control. Lessig adds that children who grow up in this digital age view these laws as pointless and fraudulent more significantly, trifling when they go on to download and remix regardless of them. Lessig cautions of a bigger trickle-down impact particularly towards the viewing of children’ laws in general. Most of Lessig’s arguments seem to rely on the benevolence of consumers of culture and their reactions towards resourceful people to sustain them directly in their efforts. It is however difficult to convince people to pay for cultural productivity. The music industry is falling down with newspapers taking the lead and the journalism sector as a whole. It seems that people will still pay for exceptional artifacts and skills. The commodity culture industries whose products are easily copied digitally could have a challenge ahead of them. The author of free culture shows how the current copyright system destructs anyone, who produces, takes pleasure in or trades any art form with Lessig arguing that artistic resources should be distributed openly rather than being taken as commodities to be accumulated.
Reforming the Law
Lessig has outlined the 5 steps below that will oust people from unnecessary laws and ensure sound and efficient copyright laws:
- Deregulating Amateur Activities: which simply means allowing of non-commercial activities to take place especially the amateur to utilize their rights given via copyright. More so, this act would enable less control and untie in order to eradicate some of the challenges for corporations’ controlling.
- Issuing of Clear Title; Currently there is no complete registry which is reachable to indicate those who own certain products. More so, Lessig emphasizes of owners/authors having their right to register their works for purpose of extending their copyrights within certain time duration. He insists the change would be significant for digital enhancement in education field.
- Simplifying of Systems; Commenting on his former works, Lessig adds that systems ought to be simplified. For instance, for children complying with the copyright laws ought to comprehend that law.
- Legalization of Copies: The daily activities are supposed to shape on federal controls concerning copyrights which ensures that directive reaches beyond boundaries. Hence the law should be rearticulated to hinder out unnecessary uses in relation to copyright owner’s regulations.
- Legalizing of File Sharing; Lessig suggests that this ought to be done so as to authorize non-commercial file sharing. Another way is by authorizing simple licensing regulations where users for affordable fees ought to buy their right to share their files.
Works Cited
Carl J. Dahl man, “The Problem of Externality,” Journal of Law and Economics 22 (1979): 141.
Lawrence Lessig, Free Culture (New York: Penguin Press, 2004), 3–7.
Lawrence Lessig, “The Regulation of Social Meaning,” University of Chicago Law Review 62 (1995), 943–1045.
Lawrence Lessig, Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy: Penguin Books, 2009.
William W. Fisher Promises to Keep; Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2004.