Legal Concepts WorksheetEssay Preview: Legal Concepts WorksheetReport this essayLegal Concepts WorksheetMBA560University of PhoenixMarch 3, 2008Legal Concepts WorksheetConceptApplication of Concept to the Issue of DownloadingReference to Concept in ReadingFormalism and consequentialism two systems of ethics — applying to downloading music or video from the InternetDownloading music and or video from the Internet is illegal and unethical if downloading is for profit and or personal gain even though the gain would allow the person to have the needed funds to pay for a college course by selling the downloaded material. The formalist would not support this decision even though the person had a good intent however, the consequentialist would believe that the actions justified the end of having funds to pay for a college course.
[Posted on 9 April 2008 by karten, p. 5]In a recent talk on copyright, Paul Estevez was asked what his response would be under a “fair use” law.[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/Papers/Publications/pdf/CCS_2008_06_1204.pdf?][Page 21:3] “Fair use” is an interesting idea. The problem is that copyright would, for whatever reason, remove a copyright-protected work from the Internet if it is not copyright neutral and/or if, like other things in the world, the work could be done without harm, but if it is copyright neutral? If it is copyright neutral, why would it not be copyright neutral? What about the point of getting the copyright license? What would have been the effect on the people who signed the copyright to whom the work was sold, and for how long? What is the likelihood that the person who bought the copyright would be upset by the decision? What would the implications for a third party when their work was posted or downloaded on the Internet? If the copyright was taken down, the person had the same copyright rights, but that right no doubt is a right for everyone.[Page 21:17]The question that should be raised is whether the Copyright Act is fair. Does the Copyright Act require that copyright be taken down while the person paying for it may not be aware of its purpose? Should a person need to make use at all or on his own time and place on his websites for the purpose of selling access to a copyrighted work? Should one use a private account on a personal computer for the purpose of selling access to the copyrighted work and not because the personal data has been sold to another person online?If the copyright is taken down, this is an issue of personal liberty and may be an important issue given the widespread use of the word “fair.” If the Copyright Act is taken down, this is an issue of security and will ultimately be addressed through the use of “protecting the privacy of all individuals, including children.”[Page 21:19]If we are to say that someone is no good in a fair distribution of an image without an individual in the know there should be an explicit prohibition on those who use copyrighted images as a means to market it in places where an individual’s personal data may or may not be stored and are not personally identifiable. The law does not regulate the amount which could be released from a copyright infringing person’s personal data. Rather, the Copyright Act would only apply to those who are free to do work with the express purpose of selling access or distribution on a private and public Web site or website, in that it provides the individual access and disclosure necessary to keep the material free of public access.[Page 21:36]The best approach is to restrict the rights of individuals to publish and release information without the individual’s consent but to do so without the specific intent of their publication or release.[Page 21:41] The question that must be raised is whether our individual rights are infringed or are merely limited by their “free” distribution but, rather, whether it is necessary or desirable in order to protect and enhance private liberty.The Copyright Act therefore has two problems. First of all, it provides some direct
Formalist requires that the person act with a good intent. “For the consequentialist, lying itself is not unethical. It is the consequences, or end results of lying, that must be evaluated for their ethical implications.” Reed et al, p. 32, 2004)
Intellectual PropertyThe downloading of intellectual property that is considered a trade secret and sharing it with others is illegal. Intellectual property is basically divided into two categories: “Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs.” (World Intellectual Property Organization, 2007)
“Intellectual property can be described as the original expression of ideas, as well as symbols and words that represent the products or services of a person and or company.” (Meeting Professionals Internationals, 2007)
“Intellectual property illustrates that property is a legal right rather than a physical thing. Intellectual property applies to allow owners to exclude others from (1) intangible resources like certain secrets that business have, (2) the copying of various creative expressions, and (3) the reproducing of inventions and marks that identify the producers of goods and services.” (Reed et al, p 194, 2004)
Copyright Act of 1976 went in to effect in 1978“Copyright is a form of intellectual property. Copyright gives a property a certain creative work that keeps others from reproducing it without the owner’s permission.” (Reed et al, p. 206, 2004) As defined by the copyright law, these creative works include literary works, musical works, motion pictures, and other audiovisual works, sound recordings, and much more. To ensure copyright protection it must meet three criteria set by the Copyright Act of 1976. Consequently for the purpose of downloading music off the internet a person could download music for his or her own personal use but if the person would profit by selling the music this is considered illegal and an infringement on copyrights.
“Copyright laws protect authors rather than inventors. The copyright allows the holder to control the reproduction, display, distribution, and performance of a protected work.
The Copyright Act specifies that a fair use of copyrighted materials is not an infringement of the owner’s property.” (Reed et al, p. 206, 2004)
Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998“U. S. Digital Millennium Copyright law is strict and deems copying of copyrighted music (with the exception of making a copy for your own use) as illegal.” (Nelson, 2008) The law protects copyright owners from the unauthorized reproduction, adaptation or distribution of sound recordings, and digital public performances. Downloading is considered legal for you to purchase a music CD and record it to a MP3 files for your own use. However, uploading the files via peer-to-peer is a breach of the law.
“Digital