Copyright
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History
The Statute of Anne, widely regarded as the beginning of the modern copyright system, had at its heart the purpose of encouraging works, as reflected in its long title "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by vesting the copies of printed books in the authors or purchasers of such copies" (British Copyright Act, 1709). Likewise, the copyright clause of the Constitution of the United States of America reflects the same goal: "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." (US Constitution, art. I, sec. 8, cl. 8) In both cases, the aim was to encourage the creation of works, and the grant of an exclusive legal right to copy (or copyright) is a means to this end.
Present Position
In New Zealand, as in western nations generally, any person who creates a work is automatically granted copyright over that work (NZ Copyright Act, 1994, sec. 14). This copyright is treated as a property right, which may be bought and sold, inherited, and so forth, and remains in force for 50 years after the end of the year of the creator's death (sec. 22). Copyright primarily involves an exclusive right to copy, it means the holder of the right can disallow any person from copying the covered work or any part of it (sec. 16). There are limited exceptions for "research or private study" (sec. 43), "criticism, review and news reporting" (sec. 42) and "copying sound recording for personal use" (sec. 81A).
Problems
Certainly it is good to encourage the creation of works, and copyright offers a means to achieve this. However any system for encouraging the creation of works must balance this aim against the imposition placed on people's liberty. We believe the current copyright system has lost sight of this.
Modern culture is defined by a number of works that are still under copyright, including the Mickey Mouse character, and possibly the song Happy Birthday. Once a work is created, copyright holders have an exclusive legal right to decide who is allowed to make copies, and how, for a significant time after the creator's death. This means that the copyright holder can choose to disallow copying altogether, as is the case with many out of print books. We think this is a problem with the current system. These restrictions were originally justified as encouraging the creation of works, but are now often seen as an end in and of themselves. A copyright duration of 50 years after the death of the creator means that we will most likely not in our lifetimes be free to use works created today.
When the Statute of Anne was enacted, copies of works covered by the law could only be made in the form of physical books by using a printing press. The technology was not available for individuals to make personal copies, and there were no other media besides physical books for distributing works covered by copyright. Granting authors total control over copying placed no direct imposition on individuals' personal liberty, and didn't restrict the forms of media through which works were distributed. The situation now is very different.
The Internet has made sharing and distributing files fast and simple. However distribution companies have been slow to adapt to using the Internet, as they have no reason to change. Because of this, there is currently no legal way to download movies in New Zealand, as the companies which hold the copyrights over films will not allow it. Nor is there a legal way for people to make a backup copy of a movie they have paid for. Modern developments are being restricted by laws written for a bygone era.
Further, while technology has created a new class of personal, private copyright infringement, comparable to parking infringement in nature, distribution companies have been pushing for increasingly harsh penalties, and mandatory use of technological measures to control and monitor people's actions, in an effort to maintain the position they have become accustomed to, at any cost to civil liberty. For many people, it seems that the governments of the world are only listening to the concerns of a small but influential minority. Many, including artists, consider the law overreaching and draconian.
References
British Copyright Act (1709), 8 Anne, c 19.
New Zealand Copyright Act (1994).
United States Constitution.
