Help Stop SOPA / PIPA from breaking the internet
January 12, 2012 Activism Leave a comment
You know, it’s probably appropriate that my 1st blog post in this new environment is about piracy and intellectual property. I know many of my clients choose not to get involved with politics, and that’s cool. But, sometimes political things become so big they threaten the very fabric of society. Now, it’s not like the Internet has been around forever. Sure, many of us around 40 (“Generation X”), remember a time when there was no Internet; there weren’t even home computers. Forget about mobile anything.
So, its understandable that a lot of people our parents age, now running Hollywood, see things from a very old-fashioned perspective. However, treating the future the way you treated the past… That ain’t going to work.
If you don’t want me to use your digital property, keep it off my computer screen. That is your job. If I find it on my screen, it’s mine.
First off, even the term “intellectual property” is an oxymoron. Anyone with half a brain understands that ideas are not property. Those things that come from the human imagination are gifts to the universe. And, any attempts to put a monetary value on those gifts inherently restrains the power of the gifts. Besides, those ideas came from someone, or somewhere, else. Nobody lives in the vacuum of space. In order for society to advance, everyone on the planet must have equal access to the gifts of the human mind. That’s where the priority should be. In balancing that huge resource of neurodiversity for the betterment of all. Not just those who have built a better cage.
Secondly, there is a huge issue of semantics. What’s really been stolen here? Are the Hollywood entertainment companies missing anything that exists already? If someone is stealing their movies how are they able to show them? And, loss of “potential” income? Have you seen the crap Hollywood produces lately? Talk about a derivatives bubble!
If you thought the mortgage industry was rife with derivatives problems, you haven’t been paying attention to what Hollywood’s been cranking out lately. Nothing but derivatives; sequels, comic books, existing books, remakes, prequels and the list goes on.
So, for starters, most of the “product” is crap. It doesn’t pass as art, and it doesn’t make money as a business. That’s crap. Just because you spent $50 million to make a movie, doesn’t mean that movie is worth $500 million. It means you’re an idiot who spent $50 million to make a movie. Here’s an idea; control your costs! Stop paying talent so much. Take more risks. Get your buddies in the insurance industry to figure out that they are strangling your creativity with their aversion to risk.
I digress. Back to my original “secondly.” If you don’t want me to use your digital property, keep it off my computer screen. That is your job. If I find it on my screen, it’s mine. If you don’t want people duplicating your property, or reverse-engineering your designs – keep them off the network, dumbass.
This video will give you a little background on how the government’s Stop Online Piracy Act came to be …
Help Stop SOPA / PIPA from breaking the internet
