As librarians we obviously have to be aware of the legal use of photos (for marketing, presentations and website creations) and literature, but being stewards of media within the library, music is also a giant concern. Other countries have a different view on music copyright. Sweden for example has a political party that supports the free trade of digital music (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2009/1009/1224256223850.html). Known as the Pirate Party, this group of swashbuckling buccaneers stand against record labels and movie studios, the entire concept of copyright. They are also opposed to the online surveillance that goes hand-in-hand with preventing modern online piracy. This site offers a great overview on the legal quagmire that is digital music (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/09/p2p-downloading-is-it-legal.ars). The article compares both the US’ and Canada’s point of view on downloading music. To be fair copyright in general is a slippery slope that is not even understood fully by lawyers most of the time. However, downloading music, copy music and ripping CDs is illegal no matter how you look at it (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/31/stealing-music-is-it-wrong-or-isnt-it/). I believe for the safety of library patrons and the library, these facts need to be presented or some sort of wavier created.
Along with the remixing the internet sensation of memes is pretty interesting. According to good old Wikipedia, an internet meme is a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an esoteric inside joke. This genre of humor falls into the same category as that of remixes and may open its own can of worms. Yahoo offers its own “Twitter-esque” site for the posting and reposting of memes. This site offers numerous examples of various internet phenomenon and promises to provide hours of wasted time….I frequent it often (http://knowyourmeme.com/).
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