Darknet, a ‘Digital Copyright Revolution’: I
p2pnet view P2P:- We’re in the midst of a digital revolution, says Jessica A. Wood in the introduction to The Darknet: A Digital Copyright Revolution in the University of Richmond School of Law’s Journal of Law and Technology (JOLT).
In what she describes as the Age of Peer Production, “armies of amateur participants demand the freedom to rip, remix, and share their own digital culture”, she says, continuing >>>
Aided by the newest iteration of file sharing networks, digital media users now have the option to retreat underground, by using secure, private, and anonymous file sharing networks, to share freely and breathe new life into digital media. These underground networks, collectively termed “the Darknet[,] will grow in scope, resilience, and effectiveness in direct proportion to [increasing] digital restrictions the public finds untenable.” The Darknet has been called the public’s great equalizing force in the digital millennium, because it will serve as “a counterbalancing force and bulwark to defend digital liberties” against forces lobbying for stronger copyrights and increased technological controls.
This article proposes a digital use exception to existing copyright law to provide adequate compensation to authors while promoting technological innovation, and the creation and dissemination of new works. Although seemingly counterintuitive, content producers, publishers, and distributors wishing to profit from their creations must relinquish their control over digital media in order to survive the Darknet era. Absent a government-granted monopoly, free market forces will provide adequate incentives to producers to create quality works, and an efficient dissemination infrastructure will evolve.
Part I examines the prospect that, due to the Darknet, it is virtually impossible to control digital copying. Peer production is increasing and darknets are becoming more prevalent. Liability rules, stringent copyrights, and technological protection measures stifle innovation, smother creation, and force consumers further underground into darknets. The Darknet poses a particular threat because it is impossible to track or proscribe user behavior. Further, the presence of the Darknet will render technological protection measures unenforceable, or at least impracticable, as a solution for digital copyright management. Part II introduces a digital use exception for copyright to deter development of the Darknet. The proposed copyright shelter is the solution most closely aligned with the goals of copyright, and a monopoly is no longer necessary or practical to accomplish those goals in the digital realm. Part III explores methods by which content creators, publishers, and distributors can profit under this new rule. Absent copyrights for digital works, service providers will capitalize on alternative business methods and data mining. Driven by necessity, they will commission the production of new works.
And in her conclusion, “Copyright was born in the fallout of a political revolution, when the drafters of the Constitution created it to safeguard democracy and defend future generations against the tyranny of monarchy”, says Wood, adding >>>
On the verge of the industrial revolution, the drafters could foresee that mass production of printed works was likely to flourish. At the time, a limited monopoly protected innovative printing technology and the expression contained on the pages that passed through the presses. Copyright’s monopoly served its purpose for nearly two hundred years by allowing authors and publishers to recoup the real costs associated with creating and disseminating new expressive works.
Essentially, the Internet is an enormous distributed network. Its precursor, ARPAnet, was created in 1969, when two computers were networked and a message was communicated directly between them.381 This connection sparked a digital revolution, changing the way the world shares ideas and shifting control into the hands of ordinary consumers. Building on the distributed network concept, eighteen-year-old Shawn Fanning released Napster in 1999, spawning a decade of controversy surrounding unauthorized digital copying.382 In this highly publicized copyright war,383 sparring factions debated whether the law should grant creators and publishers more control or allow consumers more access to creative works. The point, however, is moot. The Darknet has eliminated the choice.
Just as traditional copyrights were created to defend against tyranny, digital copyrights must now be abolished in the digital realm for the same reason. Liability rules have chipped away at the distributed network infrastructure that promotes free and efficient distribution of expression. Even worse, media consolidation is placing power and money in the hands of a privileged few who work diligently to preserve the status quo. Six companies currently own ninety percent of the media holdings in the United States: Viacom, Disney, Time Warner, General Electric, Bertelsmann, and News Corporation.384 In terms of Internet access, five ISPs (each owned by one of the six major media conglomerates) share almost fifty percent of the market.385 In 2008 alone, this media oligopoly earned over $300 billion in revenue,386 and it wields considerable political power. In the shadow of this oppressive hand, the Darknet provides consumers a refuge where they can make unauthorized copies, share ideas, and speak freely, without the fear of being caught.
Ad-hoc legislation is no longer sufficient to repair the decades-long damage of traditional copyright’s functioning in the digital realm. Rescuing democracy requires a reconstructive overhaul of digital copyright law. Fear that creative works will no longer be created absent a monopoly-like incentive is unfounded. Uncertainty about the future is no excuse for sanctioning legal standards that force inferior technology and protect archaic power structures. Empirical evidence demonstrates the social and economic benefits of publicly distributed networks, and the law should be overhauled to encourage further technological innovation. The ease with which information goods can be replicated is inversely proportional to the cost of creating and distributing creative works. Digital technology empowers market forces to pay for any real expenses required for the creation of new works. One scholar keenly noted that it is better to err on the side of public access and correct incentive problems later (if they appear).387 Once granted, it is harder to take a concession away from an industry than it is to add a burden to users.
In economic theory, waste represents a cost to society incurred when supply does not correlate to consumer demand. Publicly distributed networks eliminate waste associated with the distribution of information goods. Networks like the aptly named WASTE, a parasitic darknet capable of secretly piggybacking on university or corporate networks389 and leeching their resources, must also be eradicated. To do so, society must throw away the detritus of a failing digital copyright regime and build a refurbished sanctuary for digital democracy in its place.
Click here to read The Darknet: A Digital Copyright Revolution in full.
Click here to read Crosbie Fitch’s take, and click here for what surfer has to say.
Also see DarkNets: not tomorrow, but here and now
… and identi.ca
JOLT – The Darknet: A Digital CopyrightRevolution, Volume XVI, Issue 4
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