Lisa's Computer Blog: Copyright Presentation

I took a lot of valuable pieces of information from Josh Hardin's presentation on copyright laws. Before his talk, I was very unfamiliar with the regulations surrounding copyright and what exactly a violation entailed. While I knew copyright infringement was illegal, I had no idea that when 10 or more copies and/or a value of over $2500 is involved, a seemingly small criminal offense turns into a felony.

There are many issues surrounding copyright, and one in particular is still highly debated about. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a necessary law to have because it protects us from dangerous piracy and counterfeit scams that are becoming more and more prevalent today. While the ACTA exists for the right reason, for the safety of individuals, it is very controversial for several reasons. Not only are the terms in the agreement not clearly defined, but there is a high level of secrecy when it comes to discussion and voting. I think the benefits of the ACTA greatly outweigh the potential concerns, and while there could be some major tweaking especially in the vagueness and democratic aspect of it, I firmly believe that it's in place for a good reason and it's benefitting us.