Current Standings
Regardless of where you fall in the copyright debate or the degree to which you view knowledge as individual property, a public good, or a mix of both, the reality is that something isn't working with the current state of copyright law. The forces of copyright and ownership and being paid for distributing intellectual property don't balance with the free exchange of knowledge and ideas in the way Internet technology can facilitate. There is evidence of this everywhere across all disciplines.
According to a recent survey conducted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, scientists used to fear that patents would limit their access to research tools and technologies; however, that concern has been replaced by an increased difficulty in getting access to data.13 Even though Congress has repetitively extended copyright terms over the last forty years, patent terms have been left alone and those rights expire after twenty years. The research community has long debated whether or not patents might infringe on important scientific advancement. Might this community raise the same debate around copyright, which now lasts almost a century?
The law as it stands seems also to be limiting the histories that can be told. When professors Cathy Davidson and Ada Norris sought to document the life of Yankton Nakota writer and activist Zitkala-Ša, their publisher would not even consider use of any works that fell outside of 1922, fearing the time and expense it might take to clear copyright claims.14
The law as it stands seems also to be limiting the music that can be played. Dr. Susan Pickett, Catharine Chism Professor of Music at Whitman College writes, “I have been dealing with the problem of orphaned copyrighted works during my 15 years of research about women composers. Frankly, I can see why some people just blatantly break the law: there are so many barriers and dead ends and catch-22s that it’s frustrating beyond words even to the most law-abiding person…There needs to be an international registry of people who have legal rights over music so that it’s easier to find out whom to contact for permission” (Duke Law School, 2005, p.2).15
Something about regulating the exchange of information isn’t working, or isn't working as efficiently as it should be. In an information age, knowledge is at our fingertips. Yet, Congress continues to enact laws that restrict access. They will continue to do this unless more people engage in the shaping of knowledge in the digital environment.
13. Blumenstyk, G. (2007) "Study Shows Patents Don’t Hurt Science." Chronicle of Higher Education. 53(21).p. 31.
14. Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke Law School. (2005). Orphan Works Analysis and Proposal: Submission to the Copyright Office March 2005. Retrieved March 16, 2007 from http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/pdf/cspdproposal.pdf.
15. Ibid.