Copyright to Restrict Modern Business Models
Techdirt reports that “certain industries have used copyright law not for its intended and stated purpose (to promote the progress) but for exactly the opposite reason. It’s been used time and time again as a weapon against progress and innovation, by industries who saw that innovation as a threat to their business model. In the 1980s, Hollywood tried to outlaw the VCR, declaring it “the Boston Strangler” of the movie industry. The reality was exactly the opposite. The VCR helped revitalize the movie industry and provided the fuel that grew the industry throughout the last two decades. Then, a decade ago, the music industry tried to kill the first MP3 players, again insisting that a portable MP3 player would destroy the music industry. Once again, they failed — and once again, their own failure has helped to save them. A recent Harvard study found that the success of the digital music market has grown the overall ecosystem and resulted in much greater output in music.” They are launching the Innovation Movement to help educate people about how old businesses with old business models are restricting art and business models more suited to the modern world.
