Data’s In The Wrong Hands
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Those immortal words started Charles Dicken’s, A Tale of Two Cities, a tale that keeps repeating itself throughout history. And yet they also describe the plight of the creator working to set a creation to flight against so many odds. Throughout our history, following any creative or innovative path meant restricted expectations of success if that person wasn’t in the right place or time. But suddenly, there was hope as laws changed to protect the works and their associated creators. Our senses sung from the influx of creative inspiration that passed from person to person, though that action is as old as time itself. It’s an action that’s ingrained in each and every one of us. But it’s an action that is repeatedly stifled throughout history, because there is always someone who wants to control that action and its creations.
Problems with patents - an infographic by Frugal Dad
From the title, you would think that we’re going to be talking about theft or other nefarious activities, and you would be right. Yes, there is theft going on, but it’s not only happening at the hands of the ones that typically come to mind. Of course, those people would be the pirates that everyone is talking about. And yet, just how easy is it to identify one of them? Would it be someone who simply downloads a song or movie through those bad places that our governments want to shut down? How about a student who is researching data for a school paper? Or perhaps someone who is simply inspired by another’s creation, and wants to build on it? Would you be surprised to know that even those very politicians who hate piracy do the act themselves? And what about patent trolls who seek to make money from litigating their ownership stakes, with very little going to the actual creators? If your answer became more hesitant with each question, then you’re in the same state of confusion that everyone is in about the ownership of creations.
In Europe, we’ve already heard the EC’s Commissioner for Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, indicate that our copyright systems are no longer benefiting the people for which they were developed, the creators. In the United States, the length of copyright has been lengthened so much that we are losing the ability to see creations from decades past because of distorted laws. In some cases, such as film, the loss will be irretrievable because the medium will have decayed to a point where we won’t be able to save them. Around the world, the years of copyright enforcement mean that we won’t be able to touch, use, or even see these works which might become the cornerstone to new innovations. And our courts are full of lawsuits for both copyright and patent infringement that seek to enforce damage collection for the powerful, while stifling the opportunity for individuals. Many times, it’s the individual who actually created the original but is left out in the cold.
World copyright terms from Wikipedia
We count on the public domain to be a vibrant treasure trove of music, film, art, science, and every other creative endeavor that seeks to better mankind. On the Public Domain Day site, they have a comment by Prof. James Boyle on their About page that talks about the importance of the public domain:
Our markets, our democracy, our science, our traditions of free speech, and our art all depend more heavily on a Public Domain of freely available material than they do on the informational material that is covered by property rights. The Public Domain is not some gummy residue left behind when all the good stuff has been covered by property law. The Public Domain is the place we quarry the building blocks of our culture. It is, in fact, the majority of our culture.” (source: The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind, Yale University Press, p.40f, 2008).
But the information loss is only becoming worse as governments everywhere go into the mode of locking up information that is by right under the ownership of its citizens. While they say that this is to protect the well-being of the nation state, there is simply no consideration for the inhabitants of that nation, so they are missing the big picture, don’t you think?
The global fight to stand up for human rights blazed in 2011, and it is becoming more vital in this new year. The United States Congress is talking about taking research that was funded by the public, and putting it behind a pay wall to generate badly needed revenue, or to perhaps keep vital information out of the public domain. The copyright infringement cases may become obsolete, as government legislations are moving towards protecting monetary value over societal value. And the patent world is now a litigious arena dominated by large corporations and their fleet of lawyers who seek to stifle innovation to retain market position.
Suddenly, we’re all looking at one another as potential thieves. We’re protective of our property, and refuse to share it unless compensated appropriately. But is the momentary value of a single transaction worth decades of loss, or at its worst total loss of creativity that might potentially be the motivation behind a complete cure of disease, or a new educational program, or even a blueprint to restructure our future? This is when short-term vs. long-term needs to be critically reviewed, so that the most appropriate value for the greater common good can be validly calculated. Our governments are no longer stopping short of infringement control, as they’re now entering the censorship phase in ever-creasing numbers of nations.
Thin layer graphic from CSPD
We’re worried about data being in the wrong hands, and we are right to be worried. Our data is in the hands of those who have the power to do whatever they choose, with very little that we as individuals can do to stop them. We’re hearing our governments around the world state that monetary power trumps social power. And yet, it isn’t money that makes things. It’s people. Real, living, breathing people who have hopes, emotions, ideas, ethics, and trust built into their very DNA. No, data doesn’t belong in the hands of pseudo-people. It belongs in the hands of those flesh-and-blood individuals who will create without limitations, simply because their dreams can’t be stopped or controlled by facts or figures.
To listen to a much better spokesperson about the politics of copyright, listen to Cory Doctorow as he speaks at Digitale Allmend 2011:
And to learn more about international legislations which are making their way into global society, follow some of the recent escalating news on governmental actions (sources: EFF and others):
- United States - PIPA and SOPA, Twitter censorship, and ICE takedowns
- Canada – Copyright Reform Bill and Copyright Modernization Act
- Spain – Ley Sinde
- Belarus – Browsing foreign websites is now a misdemeanor
- Turkey – opt-in filters
- Middle East – most Internet-restrictive region in the world
This list is far from complete, and we have just started 2012. It’s going to be a year where everyone will be watching everyone for their next move in a dangerous game of power chess. When the conversation involves all global players, then there’s a chance at a balanced strategy. But once that strategy goes home, reason seems to fly out of the window and any one of the seven deadly sins takes over to kill any responsible governmental solution.
Fortunately, we have already made movements to change the copyright systems with endeavors like Creative Commons. And on January 1st of every year, Public Domain Day seeks to raise awareness about the crucial role that the public domain plays in society. Read the Public Domain Manifesto and sign it if you also agree that a vibrant public domain is the key to a successful and innovative society. And if you want to know even more about the need for a vital public domain, there’s also a wealth of information on the Center for the Study of the Public Domain (CSPD) site written by Duke Law School.
Mankind deserves to have a prosperous and creative world that seeks to build it up, instead of fencing it in. Luckily there are a lot of people with a lot of knowledge that can help pave the way towards that brighter future. But the work has only just begun, and we all need to become involved.
