Real thoughts about fakes
I had an interesting conversation with a twelve-year-old yesterday. Like more kids than not (I suspect), she is very brand conscious. As we passed the guys selling fake bags on the street in Manhattan, she flagged a Coach lookalike as an obvious fake because the C's looked like G's. This twelve-year-old (I'll call her Betty) told me that obviously fake-looking bags are, like, so uncool because everyone knows they're fake.
I couldn't help myself.
But what about fakes that look like the real thing but are a lot cheaper? I asked. Are those okay?
Betty considered this for a moment. She decided that no, it isn't okay to buy and use fakes that look like the real thing. I pressed her to explain why, and she said that even though Coach makes a lot of money and their bags are way too expensive, copying their bags is wrong because it's kind of like stealing.
DING DING DING DING DING!!!!
I wanted to hug her for giving the right answer, but that would have been, like, so uncool and it would have made her look like a major loser. Instead, I just agreed that yes, copying other people's ideas and selling them as your own is as bad in life as it is in school.
Betty asked if people can go to jail for copying handbags. I said that they can, because copying handbags (or other things) is called violating intellectual property rights. I then told her about the big bust in Chinatown earlier in the year where a bunch of people had their stores shut down and were arrested for selling fake Coaches, Chanels, and more. Betty said that shutting them down was the right thing to do, and that people shouldn't support breaking the law by buying fakes.
It was a really heartwarming moment, except for one thing: Did Betty give me the answer that she believes, or did she just figure out what the slow-moving (and short) grownup wanted to hear and respond accordingly? I don't know the kid well enough to be sure.
I am the first one to admit that I make merciless fun of luxury goods at times, but at the same time, I don't condone copying them because whether she really believes it or not, Betty's right: it is a form of stealing.
However. . . I have also copied friends' CD's from time to time. I know that's ethically wrong, but I don't feel bad about it. I also don't have a real reason for not feeling bad about it: I simply don't. Does that make me as morally bankrupt as a guy flogging fake Coach bags in midtown? Alternatively, is it more okay (as opposed to less okay or completely wrong) since I only copied them for my own use and wouldn't have bought them if I hadn't had the opportunity to make copies? Is it more okay if someone does it without my asking and then surprises me with the discs because he or she thinks my taste in music is lame?
Intellectual property rights issues include not only copied music and copied handbags, but also plagiarism, photocopying books or other written work, unauthorized use of a registered brand or trademark, cybersquatting, and more. Where do you draw the line in your daily life about what's okay and what's out of bounds?
11 retorts. What say you?
I purchased 1 or 2 designer-copy handbags many years ago. And I have copied software for personal use that I would have never purchased (minus hitting the lottery hehe). Oh yeah... and I've made personal calls at work.
I tend to formulate an equation that factors likelihood (that I could purchase) vs. damages (to creator) vs. need.
I don't buy or borrow bootleg movies (or music). Why? According to my equation: Movies aren't a necessity, I can afford to buy or rent, and production companies have HUGE bills to pay.
Why did I purchase the handbags years ago? I required a bag and the real-deal name-brand wouldn't see my sale in a million years. I don't encourage/send other customers to the faux bag vendors. I just quietly purchased my knock-off and went about my life.
I am even more sensitive about intellectual property now, so I haven't purchased a knock-off bag in a looooong time. In fact, I'm probably down to the occasional S/W copy (been about 2 years) and personal calls at work (been about 2 minutes). LOL
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Give to classroom projects in high-poverty schools via DonorsChoose 2008: Friends of Fackin Truth Blog (Participating via the AfroSpear with Black Bloggers for Education).
I tend to draw a very hard line for myself with these kind of issues. I never copy cd's or music or software. I don't buy designer bags because I can't justify that kind of money, but I wouldnt buy a knockoff either. If I wanted the bag, I would want quality.
Your comment about not considering copying someone elses cd's stealing because it is for your own personal use and you wouldn't have purchased it otherwise is an interesting one, because I assume that you do listen to them. It is like shoplifting a cd and then saying, well I wouldn't have purchased it otherwise so it is okay. Either way, you are taking money out of someone's hands by not paying for something you are using.
I do make copies of things like cd's that I own for backup, but if I borrow a cd and like it enough to want a copy, I buy it.
My opinion on this is perhaps colored by the fact that I am a quilt pattern designer, and so many people think that it is okay to make photocopies of a pattern that they own, and pass them out to all of their friends because they aren't gaining from it. However, when that happens, I lose income, and when it happens often enough perhaps it doesn't pay to design quilt patterns anymore.
This is a very interesting post and I hope the comments keep coming.
I have copied music and downloaded movies.... I don't know where I stand on this as it's accepted.
Buying knock off designer where is fairly accepted too.... but for osme reason I feel wrong doing that and also in my older years (ok, i'm only 27) I am finding less of a need to display things bearing a logo or brand as such. I can find decent quality clothing and attire in my price range...
For me it's simple. I'm Christian. I use the 10 commandments; it's all covered in there.
I believe that intellectual property rights are important - after all every technology or creative business is built around them. However, in our society we have gone to an extreme of protecting IPR to a point that it makes very little sense to me. Examples abound: I buy a song on iTunes, but must pay again to turn the song into a ring tone on my iPhone... I buy a DVD but am legally prohibited from making copies for my own use because I would be breaking the encryption on the device. At the same time, DVD publishers intentionally cripple their devices so that different copies will not play in different regions of the world.
So my conclusion is that IPR is important, but there is nothing moral about them. This is simply an economic power play between entities with competing interests. On the one hand you have the wealthy and powerful IPR owners who have a strong congressional lobby which keeps increasing the duration and power of their rights, on the other hand there are a bunch of consumers who keep getting jerked around and getting told that they are stealing content - even if they have actually paid for that content previously.
Hawa - thanks for being so frank. I think many people would find it hard to answer ethics questions in such an honest and straightforward manner, even anonymously.
tynne agle - Thanks for your input. I'm very glad to hear from someone on the creative side. I do listen to the bootleg cd's I have, but rarely. Does that make it right that I have them? No, it doesn't. It didn't bother me before, but after reading your comment it kind of does now (and that's probably a good thing).
forest - thanks for commenting. Just out of curiosity, why do you think copying movies and cd's is ethically more acceptable than copying designer labels? I don't mean that in a nasty way; as I mentioned in my post, not all duplication feels equally wrong to me, even though I know it is.
shadox - Interesting perspective. I think you're right that in some cases, a little more give and take in the marketplace would pay off in much greater goodwill (and possibly higher sales and less unethical copying) in the long run.
Thanks Frugal Z (my nickname for you LOL).
I grew up in a house with a mother who cared what everybody thought. Hiding the real deal was more important than the substance of the truth.
As I got older, I found that approach tiresome and time consuming. And while I still have some unfortunate remnants of that approach to life, I am happier to be "me" and honest about who that is.
By the way, this is a great book by Brad Blanton (strange at times, but thought-provoking nonetheless):
Radical Honesty: How to transform your life by telling the truth.
Beware, this book isn't about the simple art of telling factual stories. It explores much deeper than that.
Forgive my off-topic post. :-)
Hawa, author of
Fackin Truth Blog (Personal Blog)
and
Cleanse Master Remix (Health Blog)
Hawa - thank you! I'll keep it in mind for my next trip to the library.
I'm all for keeping it real. I love the voice you bring to the comments here. ;-)
The problem with "Intellectual Property" is that it's actually a conglomeration of three different things, none of which are property. The "property" label is quite successful marketting on behalf of some companies who want you to think compare it to physical objects.
The three main pieces of IP are:
Copyright. This is what protects books and music. At least in the US, this is legally (according to the constitution, though effectively not the current laws) meant to be for a limited time only in order to promote the production of futher works. Originally this was 14 years. Now, thanks mostly to the Disney Corporation, it's the lifetime of the author plus 70 years!
Patents. Unlike copyright, patents control ideas not implementations. Once you have a patent, you can prevent any one else using that idea without paying you for the duration of the patent. Because that's a drastic thing to do, patents are supposed to be limited to ideas that are original, non-obvious and workable. The intent was to get ideas out into public knowledge rather than being held as trade secrets, so that ideas could be built upon. Unfortunately the US now has a patent office so overloaded that it basically rubber stamps patents unless someone with a vested interest (and enough money) provides evidence against it. Additionally things not previously patentable have been added (ways of doing things, rather than the things themselves). So whilst many patents are reasonable, there are a lot of abuses where the patent is just there to stifle competition and frequently are completely obvious to anyone in the field.
Trademarks. This is where the counterfeit bags come in. Trademarks are limited to a particular market as long as there's no confusion to the customer (so someone can use the same name for companies selling clothing and bricks). Trademarks are important for quality - you know who stands behind the product.
Violations of all the above are civil offences not criminal ones, so you can be sued but not arrested.
So copying a CD is copyright infringement, not theft - at least until the next round of ever harsher laws.
Thanks, Malcolm. That was illuminating. I am not sure I agree about counterfeit bags falling under trademark law, though. I think they are actually actionable under criminal fraud. Those were the charges brought in the Chinatown bust earlier in the year, anyway.
'm coming to this article a little late, but thought I'd comment anyway.
With regard to stealing songs by downloading them for free I completely agree with you. I've only downloaded stuff that I wouldn't have bought anyway.
In my opinion there are occasions when stealing can actually lead to greater sales! For instance, I started to be interested in the Dixie Chicks after I heard about their comments about George Bush, and the ensuing circus that the media and Bush fans created. Knowing I was interested in them, my sister downloaded some Dixie Chicks songs for me (free/stolen off the internet). So I listened to them, loved them, then, over the course of the next two years, became such a huge fan I bought 2 of their old albums, their new album the day it came out, 2 of their DVDs, 2 concert tickets and 2 tickets to their movie! Without the freebie I'd never have bought anything!
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