Internet freedom and intellectual property

Internet is now a days the environment where there is more freedom of expression and action. That is how the “founding fathers” of the web created it: as an open and collaborative environment. They introduced new paradigms, amongst which one was “share for free”. It has been this collaborative, opened and free-of-charge environment one of the biggest engines of the great social, political and economical transformation that the Internet is bringing to the World.

It is therefore in defense of this same freedom of action and expression that I support what has happened with the closing of Megaupload. Because in order to make the Web develop to its full potential and make freedom of expression prevail, it is necessary to defend those who would not give free Access to their contents as much as to those who would. The key word here is “consent”. If the content producer consents its access without paying, then that should be defended. Likewise, if the content producer wants to charge for access, that should be defended as well. It’s up to the content producer how to operate, and it’s up to the consumers in the Internet to decide which one they prefer and why. No one can be forced to give contents for free as much as no one may oblige to give contents charging for them. That is in the essence of Internet freedom. That some things are for free does not mean that everything must be for free and that people can use whatever means they want to make it free, against the will of the producer. That idea was not in the minds of those who created the Internet.

Piracy is taking something without the consent of the owner. It is defined as such outside the Internet and inside de Internet. Intellectual property is private property. Each owner decides what to do with it: it can be shared for free, it can be shared with the condition that any betterments should also be shared for free, or it can be charged. All business models are equally possible and should be equally defended. Therefore, for not consented access to intellectual property, using legal means of protection is good for the Internet. Time will say which business model will prevail, although I believe there will be a space for all forms. That is the real Internet freedom which we must take care of.  

It might be argued that putting to prison the people who trespass intellectual property is like putting fences to the sea. It can be argued that what this will do is that piracy will move to countries where governments will look to another place and will not grant extradition. But that is the road that must be taken. Piracy also happens offline. International treaties between countries are made to combat it. As the world becomes more codependent – and the Web is helping a lot to that end – it will be more likely that countries will adhere to common principles, in order to benefit from the globalization of the economy, which each time is more dependent in the broad band and the Internet.

It can be argued that it is the movies industry which should change its business paradigm, because piracy is unavoidable. It might be that, but in the end, it is the same industry which will have to see how to deal with the issue. They already are looking to enhance the consumer experience at the movies, so that it is better to go to a movie than at to see the picture at home. It may work or not. It may be that they come up with a model similar to the one which Apple created with iTunes.  Anyhow, what cannot be taken as a principle in the Internet is that someone who wants to charge for what has been created must be forced to give it for free, or suffer piracy. The Web cannot be transformed into the Far West, where everyone feels entitled to take whatever one wants, despite the means to take it. That, as a principle of coexistence would lead to chaos, and the first to suffer from it would be the users of the Web. That is why in the international forums of the Internet there is an agreement on promoting freedom of expression as much as defending intellectual rights.

In order to the Web to develop we must create a minimal coexistence environment in a win/win basis, which is the only one that works. That means equally respecting the different models by which those who create value get paid for their contribution. And then, the market will decide what to take, as long as all respect all the models as they were offered.

I prefer what happened to megaupload than SOPA. In fact, if this works Okay, we do not need SOPA. All that is needed is to respect the different business models, and apply existing intellectual property laws if a breach in these rights is made. With everyone’s cooperation, we will continue to build an environment where freedom to innovate and freedom to charge or not for a service are equally respected.

Alfredo Barriga