is the opposition to Copyright laws or specific statements that are added to works in order to encourage wide distribution. The anti-copyright movement is a part of the broader Copyright Social Conflict .
The classic argument for personal Intellectual Property is that granting developers property rights encourages further development work by giving the developer a source of income. Those against copyright suggest that income to a developer must be generated by ancillary means, for different reasons:
- Intellectual "property" does not behave like material property. If I give you a physical object I may no longer have use or control of that thing, and may ask for something in return -- some payment or barter. But when I give you an idea, I lose nothing. I can still use that idea as I wish. Furthermore, the same information can be developed independently.
- Making the developer dependent on a system that requires enforcement directly ties them to large corporate entities which are able to carry out this enforcement, but may at the same time limit creative output to that which is compatible with corporate/capitalist ideology.
- Information in modern digital networks can be reproduced at very low cost; this makes it possible for people with low income to participate in the " Information Society ", unless copyright is strictly enforced.
- Enforcing copyright requires the developer to act directly against his audience; for example, in the wake of Napster , several artists such as Metallica strongly condemned fans who shared their music.
- The enforcement itself may become so invasive that it endangers Free Expression . The same methods used to prevent the distribution of copyrighted works can be used to prevent the distribution of undesirable speech.
- Enforcement mechanisms such as Digital Rights Management endanger existing consumer rights like Fair Use , and can be used to further tie creators to the corporate entities that control this technology. " Trusted Computing " platforms may refuse to play, display or execute content that is not properly "certified" by central authorities.
- Little known creators depend on distribution to become popular -- for them, copyright limits their potential outreach, and donations may be a better option. Well known creators can always ask for money from their fans upfront ( Street Performer Protocol ).
- Article 8 of the Berne Convention may have a chilling effect on Freedom Of Speech and may force an overseas audience to learn the language that the medium in the question is published in, and can cause a foreign company to act against its overseas audience. International copyright law is regarded as controversial by the Video Game , Anime , and Manga communities in the United States and Europe , such as Fan Translation , Scanlation , and Fansub ''.
- The Socialist Anarchist perspective on anti-copyright is that ideas and knowledge should not be owned or controlled. This is perhaps best summed up in Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 's slogan '' Property Is Theft! ''. These anarchists do not believe in the concepts of Plagiarism and theft of other people's ideas. What is important to anarchists is the refusal to "own" ideas and knowledge as such things are, in their view, not capable of ownership, being part of the patrimony of common human heritage.
- The loss of revenue and loss of value of copyrighted assets by individual and corporate vested interests caused by the advent of File Sharing has led to legal action by representatives of copyright holders against consumers perceived by them to have infringed on their copyright.
- The European Renaissance saw a burgeoning of intellectual talent, the like of which has not been seen since. It occurred before the existence of copyrights, and was spurred by artists copying each other's techniques and works without legal restriction. The argument that copyright law protects and encourages development is seen by many as hype intended to provide moral justification for laws which in fact are there to protect the incomes and wealth of copyright holders, many of whom are not the original developers anyway. The ease and convenience of being able to obtain and preserve many intellectual works across the Internet, it is argued, will lead to greater development if copyright law is abolished. Whilst it may not be possible for popular artists and their agents to make as much money in this scenario, it is likely that popular artists will still be able to make a living by means of advertising and product promotion, as they do at present, or perhaps by Busking , if that is the only option open to them.
- An economy operating under intellectual property rules is unlikely to be Pareto Efficient , and hence said to be less prosperous than an unrestricted economy. This argument, however, ignores the fact that intellectual property may encourage an increased level of innovation, thus compensating for Pareto inefficiency.
- Pragmatists argue that technological developments such as Strong Cryptography , Anonymous P2p networks, Onion Routing and Wireless Mesh Networks make enforcement of copyright laws unworkable, if not outright impossible.
Such statements are legally required because, under the Berne Convention in international copyright law, works are protected even if no copyright statement is attached to them. However, "anti-copyright" statements typically do not take the form of either sophisticated Open Content licenses or a simple dedication to the Public Domain ; instead, they usually just encourage wide distribution. It is possible to denounce all claims to copyright in a work including Moral Rights in a written disclaimer.
An example of an anti-copyright notice is the following:
: ''Anti-Copyright! Reprint freely, in ''any'' manner desired, even without naming the source.''
Where such notices are attached depends highly on the type of work.
They are often found in Socialist Anarchist magazines and books.
A copyright Waiver might state the following:
: ''The author of this work hereby waives all claim of copyright (economic and moral) in this work and immediately places it in the public domain; it may be used, distorted or destroyed in any manner whatsoever without further attribution or notice to the creator.''
Most people would regard "anti-copyright" notices as being equivalent to a dedication of material into the Public Domain (as in the second example above). Some of these disclaimers, however, are less accurate and need to be interpreted individually as the term anti-copyright has no accepted legal meaning. For example, if just free distribution is encouraged, modification or lack of attribution is still illegal, making the material ineligible for collaborative writing projects like Wikipedia . In such a case anti-copyright is not a true denial of copyright, but just a modification of the protection it affords copyright holders.
Many anarchists just use Copyleft licenses.
- ''"If creativity is the field, copyright is the fence".'' -- John Oswald
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