Exclusivity is in the Eyes of the Beholder
From English 194 Wiki Site
By Michelle Hodges
14:25, 1 June 2006 (PDT)
[in progress]
Contents |
Abstract
The theories of the spirit from decades before our generations still apply, as seen when comparing Hegel’s philosophy of competing spirits to the competition of the internet. Individuals of societies earn the advantage of collective ideas by calling them original and copyrighting them, while the rest struggle to gain advantage of shared ideas by calling them fair use. Property is contingent on the dialectic understanding or the discovery and claim of it. Exclusivity is relatively based on who gains entitlement of it, alienates the self by distinguishing the self from others, while reciprocal relationships are disregarded.
Description
This paper will compare Hegel’s philosophy of the spirit to current intellectual property rights in the internet, including copyright and Fair Use laws, to demonstrate that these laws separate individuals and ideas from the masses, which is a process of alienation. The type of alienation Hegel describes is cyclical and evolutionary. He makes the assumption that every being is connected to every being, and if a being attempts to distinguish itself from other beings, then they are making the distinctions about themselves. Further, all external things are the manifestation of the self, so when a being externalizes property and connects it to the self, it alienates the self from the self. So the dissolution of the self, as the self and their subjective activities, is a process “whereby the substance becomes actual is the alienation of the personality, for the self that has an absolute significance in its immediate existance...is without substance, and is the playing things of those raging elements” (Hegel 294).”
Analysis and Evaluation
Exclusivity is a process of including a few individuals and excluding the rest from the right of use and benefits. IP laws regulates and determines to what extent something is exclusive. Copyright laws grant exclusive rights to use and profit from works that are claimed to be self-generated or original, while “fair use” increasingly restricts the copyright holder's “exclusive rights.” Deciding whether a piece of work is fair use has not been standardized, and since there are no set guidelines that are universally applied, there exists a window for negotiation of exclusivity. Generally IP it relates to print, but it also includes the use of music, film, text, and more recently the internet. Mediums, such as the internet and the computer, make it easier to copy and use another’s work. Additionally, digitization of IP enables IP to transfer efficiently to the Internet. The dynamical function of IP rights, from individual rights to universal rights, copyright to fair use, fair use to copyright, are contradictions relatable to the dynamical process of G.W.F. Hegel’s theory of the spirit. Hegel, a nineteenth century German philosopher, describes humanity as having rights as a result of a historical and social struggle, which he calls the struggle for recognition, as described in The Phenomenology of Spirit. It has been as long as two centuries since Hegel, and this paper will demonstrate how his theory of dynamics in the spirit applies to IP rights. Both function as a dialectic cycle of the perception self-alienation through the externalization of self-consciousness, understanding of external universal connection, and the reinterpretation of self as part of universal externalization, proves that exclusivity is in the eyes of the beholder.
Copyright
Copyrighted material on the internet is the perception of the self through the externalization of the self through subjective property, which alienates the self by distinguishing the self from the rest. Hegel says that “the externalization is the substance, i.e. the spiritual powers ordering themselves into a world and thereby preserving themselves” (Hegel 295). To him the attempt to preserve the self through external means by claiming of property, is self-alienation. The person making a claim to property detaches themselves from themselves, by making a distinction between themselves and the whole. The claim is an identity distinction, which implies a separation of the self, and the self considered as singular in terms. Copyright is a declaration of independence, that the external works being considered are just as separate as the person claiming independence. The internet is a bit different than in texts and other mediums, in that copyrighted material needs not clearly state that it is copyrighted in order to be so. According copyright law, unless one has permission to use or copy a work for a particular use, one cannot copy another’s work, despite how simple it is. In many cases, giving credit or permission from to the creator is sufficient.
For example, downloading music by Napster users was found, in the case A&M Records. Inc. v. Napster. Inc., to be a direct infringement of copyright infringement, even though Napster wasn’t charging customers. However, it was found that Napster had knowledge of the infringement activities and copyright laws, plus they had financial interest in drawing users to its services.
Fair Use on the internet is the understanding of universal connection, external or otherwise, that unites individuals of the whole with objectively shared ideas. Fair use applies to ideas formulated from already copy written materials or not, and can be opportunized by many individuals instead of a relative few. It is one of the most important, and ambiguous, limits to copyright, allowing the use of others' works even without approval. To determine fair use, one needs to understand the dilactic nature in deceiphering, as it is open-ended. Factors for fair use include the purpose, nature, amount, and market effect of the usage. The internet offers an enormous amount of opportunities for sharing information but it is important to remember that what is freely available most likely may not be considered in the public domain, however it is debatable. Hegel says that “enlightenment completes the alienation of the spirit” (Hegel 296), suggesting that alienation and enlightenment are a cyclical process, and that property is dialectic. This statement points to the union of individuals, and the transcendence from the perspective of an individual separation to the understanding of the universal connection. It can be argued that the internet is a threat to collective rights, because they would enable rights owners to control and measure themselves directly the use of words. This is observable on the internet by the common use of things, such as expired copyrighted material or commonly known and used material. Currently on the internet there are plenty of examples of fair use, the most obvious are parts of images and sounds that are altered. For example, the Washington Post used three abbreviated quotes from Church of Scientology texts and put it on the Internet. It was found that only a small section of the work was used or copied, and the purpose was for news commentary. (Religious Technology Center v. Pagliarina, 908 F. Supp 1353 (E.D. Va. 1995). As long as the use doesn’t offend anyone, the amount is limited, and it doesn’t have a negative impact on the thing being used, people don’t pursue lawsuits.
Fair Use back into copyright
Fair Use material that is copyrighten on the internet is the reversal of the understanding of universal connection, as it moves toward the perception of the self through the externalization of the self through subjective property and alienation. It is the process of return, of the cycle of self-alienation to connection, individuals to the whole, private propety to public propety, exclusion to inclusion, and back again. The dilectic nature in determining fair use, is and advantage when pursuing to have materials copywritten. Copyrighted works benefits those individuals who apply, while fair use can be opportunized by the whole, who can then apply for copyright on fair use works. Fair use ideas copyrighted are contradiction in terms, subjective verses objective, exclusive verses inclusive, and lack certain terms because the empirical from perception to understanding, does not result in self-transformation. IP allows exclusive rights whereas fair use permits universal use, which can then be permitted to exclusive rights. IP rights are in the interest of all those who are interested in creating an identity outside of themselves with propery, and those who are entitled to fair use and apply for copyright are given exclusivity.
Bibliography
- Wikipedia's Fair Use Article
- Wikipedia's Exclusive Rights Article
- Library of Congress
- Wikipedia's Wikipedia Article
Miller, A.V. Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit. Oxford University Press - Oxford, 1977.
Michelle Hodges 16:55, 8 June 2006 (PDT)
