Nothing is free
It is said that today is the age of information. We are living in a flood of ideas and able to take anything from the Internet no matter what it is or where we are. Sometimes this process is too easy and quick for Internet users to recognize exactly what they're doing. People must be wary of it, however, because reckless download can get you involved in lawsuits for violation of intellectual property rights. It may seem unreasonable to pay penalty for just one simple click but the punishment is acceptable considering its influences on both ethics and economy.
First of all, imitating someone's work without approval is bad by itself. When an intangible property is made, its copyright is automatically granted to its producer; that is, the intellectual property basically belongs to its producer and making use of it can be regarded as thievery. Imagine someone copied your essay without your permission and got an A in the class. The first thing you rage about would be that the copycat ignored you and your ownership of self-invented property rather than losing potential income.
Furthermore, it causes bad influence on the market. Most of intellectual properties are made for sale. In other words, the price of copyrighted materials is deserved reward for the values they provide. Illegal distribution, however, causes external diseconomy so that developers make less profit than they could. Financial damage is not the only problem it causes. It also brings depression upon the market by discouraging intellectual workers from making or developing a new product. For instance, downloading games from websites or P2P client have become very popular in Korea since late 1990's. Many netizens believed only the fools spend money for software and now it is almost impossible to find package games made in Korea.
Some people may insist that all the information must be shared for free giving examples of scientific discoveries such as Einstein's theory or the law of gravity. Before my refutation, I should mention that people often confuse invention and discovery: invention is creating something new and discovery is disclosing things already exist but never known. As IPR is to protect ones' idea and creativity, discovering natural phenomenon or a new element is not subject to the law. It is needless to say that you don't have to pay royalty to Albert Einstein or Sir Isaac Newton for quoting their theories.
In my first year at university, one of the worst mistakes I made was missing the sources of the information quoted in reports or presentations. If I knew it was morally wrong and demotivating intellectual workers, I would never skip even a bit of them. I hope anyone who read my essay to be inspired and respect intellectual property rights.
Nothing is free
ReplyDelete200600731, EIT
Kim Jonghwa
It is said that today is the age of information. We are living in a flood of ideas and able to take anything from the Internet no matter what it is or where we are. It is easy enough to even novice users can follow, so people don’t even recognize that as a crime. People must be wary of it, however, because reckless download can get you involved in lawsuits for violation of Intellectual Property Rights. It may seem unreasonable to pay penalty for a mere click but the punishment is acceptable considering its influences on both ethics and economy.
First of all, imitating someone’s work without approval is bad by itself. When an intangible property is made, its copyright is automatically granted to its producer; that is, the intellectual property basically belongs to its producer and making use of it can be regarded as thievery. For example, imagine someone copied your essay without your permission and got an A in the class. The first thing you would rage about is that the copycat ignored you and your ownership of self-invented property rather than losing potential income.
Furthermore, it causes bad influence on the market. Most of intellectual properties are made for sale. In other words, the price of copyrighted materials is deserved reward for the values they provide. Illegal distribution, however, causes external diseconomy so that developers make less profit than they could. Financial damage is not the only problem it causes. It also brings depression upon the market by discouraging intellectual workers from making or developing a new product. For instance, downloading games from websites or P2P client have become very popular in Korea since late 1990’s. Many netizens believed only the fools spend money for software and now it is almost impossible to find package games made in Korea.
Some people may insist that all the information must be shared for free giving an example of scientific discoveries such as Einstein’s theory or the law of gravity. Before my refutation, I should mention that people often confuse invention and discovery: invention is creating something new and discovery is to disclose things that already exist but never known. As Intellectual Property Rights is to protect ones’ idea and creativity, discovering natural phenomenon or a new element is not subject to the law. It is needless to say that you don’t have to pay royalty to Albert Einstein or Sir Isaac Newton for using their theories.
At first glance sharing software and other intangible properties seem rational and profitable. In the long term, however, it will ruin the market system we’ve built up and even our conscience. I hope anyone who read my essay to take it seriously and respect Intellectual Property Rights.