This week we were tasked with finding an article that related to some issue of imaging copyrighting or ethics in digital imaging. I found this interesting article, on the concept of using copyright laws to censor various historical images, using the famous example of the tank man at Tiananmen Square. The issue at stake being the idea that the group that owns the rights to this photo, Visual China Group, could use the standards set in the US Digital Millenium Copyright Act(DMCA), to force anyone or any institution to take down the photo or be sued.
This rightfully would be an issue, as the ramifications are great. This photo is of extreme historical significance, and to not be able to learn from it, simply because the copyright owner does not want it spread, is ridiculous. It could be spared due to the concept of fair use, but even that is not a definitive protective factor.
The US is very interested in protecting their own intellectual property, but when it could lead to censorship such as this, is that truly right?
No comments:
Post a Comment