State of Copyright and My State of Mind
Surely everyone has seen William Patry’s final blog post. While many (e.g. Russell McOrmond, Howard Knopf, Ars Technica, Georgia Harper) are lamenting the end, Michael Geist is being very optimistic about the state of copyright in Canada.
Geist contacted me on Facebook (because the CAPTCHA on my blog wasn’t working for him) to clarify that he is not directly involved with the work done by the Vancouver branch of Fair Copyright for Canada or the BC Civil LIberties Association. There, too, he was positive about the work being done by the Fair Copyright for Canada groups (in response to my admittedly bitter characterization of the groups as mobs), and I was all but completely pessimistic and jadded.
Perhaps, as I told Geist, the work being done by the Fair Copyright for Canada groups is more legitimate than the “we deserve free stuff” attitude of many of the early wall-posters on the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group. But having removed myself from watching it progress, I wonder how much the lobbying is fair mostly for consumers rather than fair for all. As someone (I don’t remember who) already pointed out, finding a completely impartial party on the issue of copyright is nearly impossible.
This blog is less than a year old, my contribution to the copyright conversation is vastly less than Patry’s, and I’ve already reached the point where I have to seriously consider whether to continue in the direction this blog has been headed. While this is a good a time as any for me to air out my thoughts, this has been on my mind for a couple of months now.
My inital interest in copyright was purely academic, and I felt responsible for joining the political activity because few other creators were a part of it—and now I know why. The demands of keeping up with the Jonses (and the Giests, and the McOrmonds, and the Knopfs, and the Trosows) are almost impossible to fulfill when someone has a full-time job, a part-time job and a handful of volunteer commitments—as is the case for most creators (including myself).
I have never been built for being in the thick of political drama (in fact, that’s even one of the few genres of film which is unable to even secure my attention), and the past few months have confirmed that for me. It’s a good thing I never want celebrity (I’ll settle for fortune without the fame ;)), because I’m much more suited for a life behind the scenes. So I’m going to back off the politics before my fiestiness gets me into trouble, and settle back into the academic study of copyright I prefer and for which I’m better suited. I’m not sure what that means for this blog, but I’ll still be around.
Tags: copyright, michael geist, patry
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