Exchange of Copyright for a Creative Commune: The battle over Intellectual Property Rights

Exchange of Copyright for a Creative Commune:
The Battle over Intellectual Property Rights
The concept of property has evolved from a simple claim of possession to a broad term spanning the realms of science, music, medicine, culture, you name it. Intellectual property is a well known term that represents any form of personal creation—such as a film, song, painting, or a piece of literature—that has commercial value. In order to preserve this right to property, congress enacted trademark, copyright, and patent laws to provide documentation for the creators of these ideas, inventions, discoveries, etc. Despite the government’s effort, the lines between give and take, buy and share, copy and reference is one that remains extremely blurred. Industry as a whole has become over-zealous in their claims of ownership, greedy to obtain sole ownership and usage of an innovative product or service. Institutions and Research facilities are demanding more protection on their allocation of informative materials. Musicians, artists, and even cultures have jumped on the bandwagon as well, filing lawsuits against parties using their works without proper permission and consultation. All of these components promote a sense of fear in innovation. United States legislation is moving in the wrong direction veering away from intellectual progression and towards an overhaul of property litigation in the court system Although some arguments pertaining to property infringement are valid, the tug-of-war battle of ‘whose whose’ is all too reminiscent of toddlers in a sandbox fighting over who gets to use the shovel.