Under the current laws, copyrights do not necessarily prohibit all copying and replication of the original contents. It gives some exceptions under the fair use doctrine (US CODE). Such a situation has opened loopholes for illegal duplication in the name of fair duplication. The laws therefore, are not adequately formulated. It would be prudent if the doctrine of fair use is amended such that no duplication would be made without the express permission from the creator.
The law alone may not be effective as it has failed with lesser penalties for the convicts of copyrights. The penalty of the copyright convicts both in jail terms and fines needs to be increased. Such a step would act as deterrents to the society. It is worth noting that replication and copying is a lucrative affair. It is thus encourages most people to get involved due to the high profits even in the face of the laws since the laws give minimal penalties that cannot significantly affect the persons business. Therefore, the only possible way to deter people from violating the copyright laws is to increase the jail terms, the penalties as well as denial of parole to them.
On the same note, most of the law enforcers receive bribes to let the perpetrators of copyrights go free or continue with their business. Therefore, stringent measures need to be put in place to deter bribing to the law enforcers. Special police units could be created to dedicate their service in the enforcing of copyright laws. Such a need arises due to the technological advancement that makes perpetrators difficult to find them. The special unit would get trained on how to use technological platforms to track the duplicators of original works without the right permits.
The laws may not fully deter the illegal duplication without proper identification mechanism. In this case, inventors ought to invest heavily in creation of works that are difficult to duplicate. For example, special codes or algorithms are attached the original works such that the work cannot be duplicated without a password obtainable from the creator. The password should be made unique just as it is with many software inventors who provide the users with single user or multiple user permits for a given period of time. Although these measures have been applied previously to different levels of success, there have been many challenges in some works since it is difficult to give the special protection codes. However, since technology is continually advancing, the same is expected in the copyright protection measures. The inventors of copyright protection should keep the phase in the technological advancement.
The laws and other deterrent mechanism have succeeded and failed at varying levels previously. It is basing on this situation that other alternatives need to be considered. For example, the perpetrators or duplicators of the original works if caught may be forcefully registered as legal duplicators of the same (Liebowitz, S., 2003). Such would reduce the unnecessary hide and seek games and the associated ills such as bribes. These perpetrators maybe required to pay a certain fine depending on the time they have been in the business that would be channeled to the creator. Such a move would ensure that the creators do not entirely lose in the process. The fine would also act as an express registration fee and thus the perpetrator would be recognized as a legal producer and hence would be paying for the necessary document in the future.
Duplication and copying of protected work is not just a simple one time affair. Therefore, it is imperative that those in the business have invested heavily on the mechanisms to avoid the laws and being detected. At times, it involves utilization of talents. Those involved can be utilized in creation of anti-copyright mechanisms. If they are caught, instead of applying the laws by just fining and jailing them, they could be used to create mechanism and programs that would make copying the works very difficult as the saying go, set a thieve to catch a thieve. Such could be extended to reward the perpetrators on the quality of duplication they make. If the duplicated work is of high quality, it indicates the original ideas and levels of the creator are maintained and hence the market for such in the legal perspectives still thrives. Therefore, if those who make great duplication may indirectly promote the original ideas of the creator and thus it can help by recognizing their hard work.
In conclusion, the enforcement of copyrights requires the utilization of both he laws and alternatives at equal measures. It is the laws that determine the grounds on which the perpetrators are identified. The use of the alternatives would be used based on the enacted laws such that the perpetrators are not just punished, but also benefits in the systems directly or indirectly.
Work cited
US CODE: Title 17,107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use". .law.cornell.edu.
Nimmer, David Copyright: Sacred Text, Technology, and the DMCA. Kluwer Law International. p. 63. 2003
Liebowitz, S. Alternative Copyright Systems: The Problems with a Compulsory License, Presented at SERCIAC 2003.
