Copyright, as it’s manifested itself in today’s world isn’t working too well. Some companies have been aggressively protecting their intellectual property primarily by suing infringers left, right and centre. So far, for the most part, they’ve failed miserably when it comes to preventing infringement — or piracy as they often call it.
Some companies seem to have realised that traditional business models need to be changed by allowing greater access to their intellectual property. I don’t know of companies which have simply given up all claim to their copyright but there are companies which seem to be exploring ways to reduce infringement which don’t involve dragging infringers to court.
In India, Moser Baer seems to have begun doing this by offering inexpensive VCDs and DVDs of films.
Recently, Random House offered an entire book as a pdf download — Beautiful Children by Charles Bock — without charge for a limited time hoping to generate interest in the book and hoping that those who read the book online would want to own a traditional copy of it.
And now, The Guardian reports:
“Penguin is planning to offer audiobooks that are free of digital copyright protection technology, which will allow buyers to play them on any digital device, dismissing fears that they could become the latest target for online pirates.”
None of these companies are giving up their copyright and moving towards more placing more material in the public domain. However, they do seem to be realising that their current business models are not working too well and that they are fighting a losing battle against infringement.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment