Blog Entry 1 - Sara Duffney

So far, the readings that have engaged me the most are those on intellectual property. It’s a fascinating subject, and it’s the first real issue we’ve tackled so far in this course. I actually had the opportunity to discuss it briefly with a friend. The friend said she likes to make copies of her DVDs, one set for campus and one set for home. I mentioned I was in this class and brought up that it is legal to make one copy of electronic material for archiving purposes, and that many people like to make extra copies of their CDs (for their cars, for example, in case of sun damage or theft). I told her I didn’t think it was unethical at all and what she was doing isn’t considered piracy or theft, since she purchased the DVDs and isn’t intending to redistribute the copies. She was pretty relieved, and seemed surprised that what she was doing wasn’t illegal.  I think the millennial generation, having grown up with illegally copied VHS movies and cassette tapes, almost expects everything concerning copying, downloading, etc. to be illegal at this point. 

While I have already contemplated this topic independently of this course, I still learned quite a bit about the current laws around the world, and how these laws are evolving with technology. I’ve always wanted to come up with a grand solution to the issue, some new, inventive way of keeping everyone happy. Our readings (and videos/articles) have been informative enough that I think my arguments are stronger than before, and I’ve come to a much better understanding of the way copyright is viewed around the world. Thailand, the Confucian mindset and the Ubuntu mindset of sharing as a form of respect (the author having inclusive rights rather than exclusive) was very interesting.
  

My technology behaviors will not be changing, as I still disagree with a few laws that are currently in place (and I’m not doing anything I’d consider unethical). There were a few areas from the discussion this week that surprised me: the general agreement that Open Source software is positive, Microsoft preferring you pirate their software over anyone else’s, and the gray area concerning copyright jurisdiction. In conclusion, I’m excited for the next few weeks and the material we’ll be covering!