Answer that question in your head. Better yet write down the answers to these questions.

• What is the purpose of copyright?
• What is the history of copyright?
• Do you know anyone who exchanges copyrighted material over the internet?
• How do you feel about file sharing?

Now watch this video and see how you compare with a few in Chicago…

This is a video I saw blogged about and watched. It got me thinking about how little I know about copyright. I have much to learn, even though I think that I’m somewhat informed. The video shows that most people have varying ideas and understanding of the purpose of copyright. One idea that often comes up in a negative context is that of “sharing files over the internet”. Next time you hear that term, think of these questions. Can you legally share copyrighted material over the internet? What is sending an email attachment? Can bit torrent or P2P be used for legitimate authorized uses? What does “sharing files over the internet” bring to mind for you?

Here are some good resources to learn more about copyright:

• A good Google Tech Talk presentation about the history of copyright.
• Wikipedia on Copyright
• The Copyright Clearance Center is a not for profit that deals with copyright.
• Free Culture is a book I enjoyed about copyright and its impact on culture. (Legal free download of a copyrighted work.)

I like what the framers of the Constitution (Article I, section 8, clause 8) had to say:

Congress has the power to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.

Notice that Congress is promoting progress by granting limited monopoly. This is very different than the not so limited “life of the author plus 70 years” of today. It is also very different from the thoughts of those in the video that copyright is for protecting authors. It looks to me that the founding fathers were looking to promote general societal progress rather than the progress of authors.