Seon Hyuk Im / Intellectual property / Tuesday 11am

The Inevitable and Unstoppable

           We currently live in an era where many things are depended on electronics and internet. To be specific, many data are, and still being uploaded onto the internet. The data that are mainly being uploaded are documents, videos, music, and pictures. They may be in the form of torrents or just files. I'm sure four in five people, have downloaded these files or torrents. I'm not an exception. It's illegal, since it's a form of copying and downloading others' property that are copyrighted or patented. Though it is illegal, I think anyone shouldn't get in trouble for downloading and uploading onto the internet.

           In this modern era, internet is a necessity. We need our smart phones and computers to do our work, and to communicate. However, we can also enjoy by watching videos, listening to music, and sharing photos. We have to download them onto our devices. We all download from a different source, a different provider. Almost everyone does this. The government can't go around arresting every single person who downloads, because it'd be a such tedious task, and it'd put more than half its nation's people in jail. Who'd be running the economy? Who'd be living in an empty country? Many problems like this will arise when so many people are in jail.

           These days, it's hard to find yourself with some free time. It's hard to catch your favorite shows during the weekday, and it's hard to find time to catch a movie that you want to watch. That's where DVD and video stores come in, but in the modern era, it's faster to find yourself a torrent or file on the internet that you can download as soon as the movie releases its DVD, or after your favorite show has aired. It's free. All you need is internet. Download it, and after a few minutes or hours, the movie or show is yours. Many people do this. The people may be charged for downloading copyrighted files, but the cyber police cannot catch every single person who commits this crime. Again, it'd be tedious and many people would lose too much money, raising complaints around the country.

           It may sound serious to some people, it may not. I believe there is no stopping to this however. The communities of sharing files online has become too large to control; cleaning this mess up will take a long time. There's too much people that upload mass files for people to download. More and more people are coming to use the internet as third world countries are also coming to the technological era rapidly. There is no solution, but to accept the fact that it cannot be stopped and less people will buy real products. Free and fast has become the trend to modern people.

           In conclusion, uploading and downloading files online illegal cannot be stopped, so the government should stop pursuing for people that should be punished. As modern technology advances, so do the people's skills. More and more files will be uploaded, and less ways to prevent and slow down the process will be available. I support illegal downloading because it's free, fast, and convenient. It's common sense to rather download freely, than to find a store and buy the product. Who has the time to? Why settle for inconvenience when you can do everything in one sitting?

So-eun Yoon/ Information Technology/ Tuesday34

201302156 So-eun Yoon                           IT Revolution: A Double-edged Sword              Improvement in technology, beginning with the invention of the printing press in the 15th century and continuing on with the proliferation of the Internet in the 1990s, has allowed people the access to an amount of information that was once impossible. Different paradigms conflict as to whether technological development has led to the betterment of the society or caused only negative impacts to it. While it is undeniable that technology has brought about a number of great benefits to our society, it is a double-edged sword with both merits and demerits. Although information technology has been responsible for causing major democratic upsurges around the world through the power of mass media and has optimized every individual's work efficiency through the convergence of knowledge, it has also widened the gap between the haves and the have-nots.              To begin with, information technology has advanced every individuals' human rights by creating global democratic upsurges through the impact of mass media. The term 'CNN effect' refers to a theory of political science that the advent of the popular 24-hour global television news channel, specifically CNN, has a great influence on the conduct of the information society or the IT Revolution. The term simply refers to the political impacts of technological globalization which has been responsible for spreading the idea of democratic peace throughout the world. As a case in point, one of the most prominent examples of CNN effect may be found in the case of the Tiananmen Square Crisis in 1989 which was broadcast all over the world through CNN. Specifically, the graphic images of pro-democracy students without any armaments standing in front of numerous armored vehicles of People's Liberation Army shocked the whole world and led to serious political concerns over the situations of human rights in China. Such concerns of western countries became main obstacles for Chinese accession to the WTO until the year, 2001. As such, information technology has advanced human rights by spreading the idea of democracy all over the world.              In addition, with the emergence of the Information society or the IT Revolution, learning has taken an interdisciplinary approach which has optimized individuals' efficiency in the workplace. That is, companies have adopted 'Wikinomics' in their workplace, which refers to a newly coined blend of Wikipedia and economics, indicating a mass collaboration in the fields of economics and management, which has become possible through developments in information technology. By creating a 'Wiki workplace' where individuals with diverse professions come together to collaborate, workers can be provided with incentives to innovate, which in turn creates more profits for firms and organizations. The concept of Wikinomics may be simply understood as an example of collective intelligence, which strongly believes that none of us are as smart as all of us. The new mass collaboration is changing how companies and societies harness knowledge and is affecting every sector of society and every aspect of management by optimizing individuals' work efficiency.              However, information technology has also created major social issues by widening the gap between the rich and the poor, which is called the digital divide. The term refers to the widening gap between those who have effective access to information and communication technology and those who do not. The phenomenon of digital divide has been a growing problem since the advent of the IT Revolution. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the developed countries in North America, Europe and Asia were found to do well in providing people with an easy Internet access, while the developing countries and third-world countries in Africa and elsewhere did poorly. In this manner, information technology has further increased the gap between the haves and the have-nots.              While information technology has brought about numerous benefits to our society, it has also been responsible for causing major social issues. The IT Revolution has advanced human rights through the use of mass media and optimized people's work efficiency by creating a 'Wiki workplace'. However, it has also broadened the gap between the rich and the poor through a phenomenon called digital divide. By fully understanding the strengths and weaknesses of information technology, we can create a better society where every member of the society is guaranteed his or her rights and can fully display individual talents.

Do Hee Kim / Assignment #5 / Tues. 11 A.M.

Intellectual Property


The issue of intellectual property has been arisen at the same time with the advent of internet. Thanks to the internet, we can easily have access to enormous amount of information and various contents including movies, music and more. However, it also has facilitated an establishment of the new domain called "illegal downloading." People somehow penetrate through the walls that protect various contents on the internet and easily acquire them. Some people insist it violates the law of intellectual property, but I believe it depends on the originators whether the law applies to them or not.

The problem of intellectual property stems from the idea of creativity. Intellectual property rights was created because people did not like the idea of their "originality" or "creativity" being stolen by others. However, I believe no one has their own "originality" in that people are influenced and inspired by almost everything that surrounds them. It was their creativity that produced their work by fusing and adding and transforming different kinds of originalities. I'm not saying that the ideas are not creative and innovative, they are just not purely original. In that sense, people should get credit for being creative, not original.

Some musicians, movie makers, and writers "strongly" assert their intellectual property rights. This means that their productions are the means of making a living. I cannot say it is wrong for them to call out for their intellectual property rights because it is obvious to receive credit for making something creative. However, I believe they make "art" for money and their work was inspired by something else beforehand. I think true artists are those who merely enjoy having their work being watched or listened by others, and I know I can only say this because I am not an artist.

As I have mentioned above, people are inspired by their surroundings and everything they encounter. It helps people to build onto those inspirations that lead them to create such an innovative work. By letting people share everything they've created, it will allow us to meet a whole different world. Creative ideas and works will overflow with thousands of ideas shared and exchanged. However, this will only become possible only when the creators allow it to happen.

It is no longer the era of fighting over intellectual property rights on newly invented products, machines, technologies or whatsoever. If these are created in today's world, then they should be associated with the patent rights, not the intellectual rights. Also, as long as the creators do not care about their works to be used somehow by others, intellectual property rights should not be asserted. In order for the world to take a great leap towards more innovations, intellectual property rights should be weakened.


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Jung Yong Ko/ Intellectual property/ Tue 11

 Intellectual property

 

 When there were no internet, people used to buy CDs, albums and video tapes. However, as the world developed, people became able to use internet. And, CD players, LPs and etc. disappeared. Majority of people started to listen to music and watch videos on their cell phones. So most of them get their songs and videos on the internet for free. Some countries started to block all the websites that play videos and songs for free.

 

In Korea, artists complained about the music piracy that people get the music illegally. So they blocked all the sites that music can be played and downloaded for free such as, Grooveshark. They say downloading them for free are same as stealing foods and drinks from the convenient store. Some artists think downloading and sharing songs are same as the robbery. Artists say that their creations are meant to be sold not shared on the internet for free.

 

 In some countries such as Indonesia think that music piracy is not a piracy. They do think songs and videos are creations but they think creations are meant to be spread for free and let everybody know. Even if music piracy is occurring frequently, famous artists such as Lil Wayne, Drake, Kanye and Eminem do not really care about the music piracy because they sell billions of albums every year. Some countries think that music and videos are part of art and they think these should be free not sold.

 

To sum up, as the world developed, people started to illegally download songs and videos on internet. Some countries such as, Korea think this is not right and blocked all the websites that plays songs and videos for free. However, there were countries that songs and videos are part of art and should be free.

 

 

 

 

 

Daewon Shin /Intellectual property/ Tuesday 11am

           Everybody commits a crime unintentionally quite often, presumably more than he or she thinks. Some people smoke in smoke free zone, and some throws away litter in the middle of street; it happens more frequently when it comes to cyber world. When someone wants to watch a movie but has no friend to go for it with, they just download it somewhere on the Internet and enjoy it; when some people want to save some music on their MP3 player, they download them illegally instead of paying for them. Those behaviors are certainly crimes according to constitution, maybe in most countries. Then, those crimes which are the same as theft in terms of behaviors themselves, are 'actually' the same as theft? I do not think so. It is not the truth, at least, yet.

         

           It is definitely stealing copyright owners' rights to illegally download music or movies. They are supposed to get some money in return to sell their copyright. People who downloads other's work without paying for it are surely taking their right to make money. I, however, do not think it is exactly the same as theft because properties like movies or music do not disappear even though they are taken from others. It means when you download movies on the internet, you are not taking their whole properties, but kind of sharing it. It sounds ridiculous, but when you do not spread the movies or music out to make money, it is not as serious crime as theft.

           Sometimes illegal downloading even helps copyright owners make money. It is a matter of course the more people download illegally movies or music, the more famous the movies or music become, which means the behavior of illegal downloading could promote movies or music. In the current music field, composers or producers who may have copyright for the music, do not expect to make money from selling their music, but from holding concerts, or selling the image of singers who sing the song they made. It means it is not a big deal to spread their music almost free, but it is the matter to make it famous. In this point, these crimes could even help copyright owner make money.

           There, however, are some cases illegal downloading is taken the same as theft or more serious crime than that. For example, Disney never allow their animations are spread for nothing; Disney accused someone of downloading their newest animation 'Frozen' illegally. They take their intellectual property itself important, so they do not want anybody use their effort without just cost. For me, however, their mind is just bluff of someone who has enough.

           Illegal downloading cannot be the same as 'physical theft.' It does not go away even when it is spread out, most of time the copyright owner does not even know their work is stolen. Of course, copyright should be protected by law, but it is early to apply a strict rule to illegal downloading yet. People do not take it as a serious crime, and they do not even feel guilty for doing it. It is firstly necessary to change public awareness for illegal downloading, and it is the next step to regard illegal downloading as the same as 'actual' theft.

Sharon Jeon/Music Piracy- Why One Must Stand Up Against It/Tues. 11AM

Music Piracy- Why One Must Stand Up Against It

 

One of the most difficult challenges is standing up for what is right even when everyone else is not. As internet became readily available, illegal downloading and uploading of music became very popular and easy. In an effort to combat piracy, various music industries are suing file traders and the sites they download from. However, it is a challenge to track down everyone because there are thousands of people downloading everyday using various sites. Downloading illegal music is much like shoplifting a CD. This is crime and it should be prevented. I believe that penalties should be strengthened for music piracy because it is not only morally wrong, but it also affects the music industry and the legal buyers.

 

Music piracy is killing sales growth and profits for the music industry. According to RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), it is estimated that the music industries lose $4.2 billion to piracy worldwide each year. This is because the more people can get music for free, the less they will buy. As a result, the paychecks of retailers, producers, musicians, song writers and recording engineers are all affected. For artists, since it is hard for them to make money from the sale of their music, they have to look for other means to earn money like touring.

 

Legal buyers are also affected by music piracy. They have to pay more to buy original CDs since the retail price has been raised to accommodate for the lower sales. This also affects those legal music buyers that purchase online. Record companies installed DMR - a technology that limits what people can do with the music that they buy - to prevent copying and file sharing in the songs they sell. Therefore, even if someone pays full price for a track, they might be limited in where and how much they can play that track. Music piracy should be banned because it is not right for the legal buyers to pay more money to make up for others illegal actions.

 

Some argue that people who listen to music are mostly teens and college students, a group that do not have a steady income. As a result, if they had to buy original CDs for every artist, they would not listen to music as much since the CDs are expensive. However, music piracy is downloading music without paying. It is like wearing a dress from a store and going out with paying for it. This is morally wrong because it is stealing. For low income consumers, there are many music applications for mobile phones these days where they can download music legally for a minimal price. Therefore students can still enjoy music at a low cost.

 

With more and more people pirating music, CDs are selling less; consequently, their retail price has been raised, making the legal buyers pay more to accommodate for the lower sales. Despite how easy downloading is, and despite the fact that so many people do it, the bottom line is that sharing music without copyright permission is illegal. It is also morally wrong because it is using someone else's property without their permission. Therefore, music piracy should be banned and efforts must be taken to combat it.

Kim Seung Hyun /intellectual property/ Tuesday 11am

The Importance of Intellectual Property Rights

 

Without a doubt, the right to property is one of the most fundamental human rights and it assures one to have a general and exclusive entitlement to his private property. The right applies to not only tangible property but also intangible property such as writing, software, and music. In today's world overflowing with information and intellectual property, it is essential to protect one's right to his intellectual creation.

 

First and foremost, intellectual property rights promote new and further intellectual creation. Writers and musicians put efforts to create their works and corporations invest time and money to develop new technologies. However, were it not for intellectual property rights, such works and technologies would not be protected against copying and anyone can claim rights to other's creation. This would make the original creators' efforts and investments meaningless and discourage them from creating further intellectual property.

 

Some may argue that an individual or a corporation should not have an exclusive entitlement to intellectual property. One of their ideas is that unlike material property, intellectual property is not scarce. Thus, they argue, sharing it does not deprive the creator of his property but instead leads to public owning more property. Nevertheless, their argument is invalid. In a short term, people may seem to benefit from sharing intellectual property without giving acknowledgements to creators. However, as mentioned above, soon creators will be discouraged from creating at all and thus there will not be new intellectual property to share.

 

We live surrounded by others intellectual creations and yet we often do not acknowledge their efforts and investments to create them. We may benefit by illegal-downloading and piracy but, in fact, in a long run, it leads to a world without incentives to create any intellectual property. Thus, the protection of intellectual property rights is vital.