Co-Author Anthony Morrell
J: My opinion is that copyright is disgraceful in its misattribution in current day, and that it should not exist.
I will comply with copyright laws, but have no interest in the ethical farce that they represent. This is very much a case where corporate protectionism has won the legal war against the common good.
A: Copyright law is in serious need of revision to adapt to the modern world. Software is in a strange position with respect to copyright law in that it has features of both literary works (which are automatically protected) and functional tools (which are not). As a result, we have to take every possible precaution with how we use, license, and distribute our code (and even more so with the code of others!), because a potential copyright violation can always be around the corner if we make the wrong move. While the (mis)attribution of copyright law to software is both unethical and poorly done, we also have to accept that it exists and we must legally follow it to the best of our ability.
The growing popularity of 3D printing presents a number of new challenges, as outlined in the first video. Like with digital music, 3D printable schematics will become increasingly prone to piracy, so it’s important that we as programmers design thorough systems that can provide content creators with the means to protect their products without adding excessive effort to the process of purchasing and downloading those products.
J: I disagree with regards to 3D security: it is paramount that we do not contribute to the stifling of yet another industry with misapplied restrictions. I would much prefer to create a system which is fundamentally incapable of being policed, rather than one which facilitates it. In any industry where we contribute to the destruction of freedom of expression, or restrict distribution of ideas and designs, we fundamentally threaten our own freedom to innovate, improve, and progress.
The system by which ideas and designs (especially software), are added to the public domain has practically halted. This desperately needs to change, and I can ethically support no system which holds onto trade secrets at the cost of the betterment of humanity.