Chapter 4: Intellectual Property (part 1)

Name Victoria Terhaar Class time: 12 pm
KEEP THIS TO 1-3 – PAGES LONG (EXCLUDING REFERENCE PAGE)

Author: Sara Baase
Date of Publication: 2008
Book: The Gift of Fire
Sections read: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3.1, 4.3.2

1. (Knowledge)Tell three interesting elements of this chapter:
a. Intellectual –property protection is the protection of the creative expression of ideas, not the protection of the physical property the ideas are expressed within. (pg. 200)
b. I thought it was interesting that because of piracy issues, the entertainment industry is losing billions of dollars a year. I thought because of websites like Netflix, and iTunes that are flourishing the industry wouldn’t be losing that large of an amount of money. (pg. 202)
c. Because I was only eleven when Napster was issued to be shut down I didn’t know that it was due to illegalities within their business. I found it interesting to learn the actual reason why the program was shut down was because it provided copyright infringing activities. (pg. 211)

2. (Comprehension) Summarize what is being discussed within this chapter?

The first part of chapter four covers what intellectual property is and how it is being affected by changing technology. According to Baase, intellectual property is the intangible creative work, not the particular physical form it comes in, of a book, article, play, song, work of art, software, or movie. Intellectual property is protected by copyrights or patents, and has to keep evolving as technology is evolving (pg. 198-203). There have been court cases working to try and protect people’s intellectual property rights, and from those came the Fair Use Doctrine (pg. 206) and millions of dollars in compensation for h entertainment industry. In section 4.3 Baase talked about issues that concern copying and sharing of digitized entertainment and software and some lawsuits that arose from that issue.


3. (Application)Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar situation in society or that you have experienced – BE SPECIFIC AND EXPLAIN?

Cheating on a test or copying of another person’s homework or school assignment happens almost every day in a school system. The stealing of another person’s answers on a test, or even one kid willingly giving another kid the answers to his test or homework, could be considered stealing of one’s intellectual property. I’ve seen numerous times since I started middle school children cheating on tests or copying each other’s homework. Because kids are supposed to be coming up with their own answers to teacher’s questions I would consider their answers their own intellectual property.

4. (Analysis)Address ANY that apply. How can you compare one of the situations in this chapter to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading? Try to connect what you have by reading this article and how it applies to the stages in Bloom's taxonomy in 2 full sentences.

A specific example of intellectual-property protection in society could be plagiarism within schools, both high school and colleges. Students these days are getting lazier with citing information they use from copyrighted work in their own essays, projects, etc. This use of another person’s creative expression of ideas without citing correctly or at all could be considered stealing of intellectual property or “illegal” and teachers and professors are trying to find successful ways to keep students from doing this. The following link shows how serious of a matter plagiarism is taken at Buffalo State College (http://library.buffalostate.edu/research/plagiarism.php).

5. (Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS)? What new conclusions can you draw about this (or other topics) after reading this material?

I do agree with what is being said within this chapter because whether a person’s property is a physical, tangible material, or digitized, or intellectual, I do feel a person has the right to their own property and if it is being stolen should be compensated for it. One thing I don’t agree with is the banning of media and devices that make the likelihood of copyright infringement decrease only because that one reason. If a software or device can be useful to people but also has potential for illegal use, it should still be completely run out before choosing whether or not to ban the item (pg. 215).


6. (Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Evaluate why you are viewing the topic in this manner based on your experiences. What ethical evaluations (see Chap1-1.4 for exp of Ethics) or decisions were made/can be assumed from this chapter? What new ideas will you make after reading this chapter?

I believe this topic is completely relevant in today’s society because no matter what the situation people always want to get the money for the work they do, and if there is illegal intellectual property stealing, or file sharing or copying then the originator of the material doesn’t get compensated for their work. Therefore, if there is a chance someone can get paid they will take matters to court and sue whoever necessary to get their money, or keep their rights, and to keep that from happening again.