WEEK 5. Copyright reform

I find the copyright topic extremely challenging to address, since I'm feeling a huge lack of expertise in this field. There are so many details, corner cases and sectors of the aspect, that any opinion without a thorough background study will fall short of objectiveness.

This is the feeling I've got after reading the Chapter 2 of the "The case for Copyright Reform". It indeed seems very convincing for an average person. Thinking that there would be no need to pay 11€ per month for Netflix, instead just sharing movies copies with friends or owning one account for 1000 people. Or copying games from one SD card to another. Sending over PDFs of books and many more... 

I am originally from Russia, the country where peer-to-peer is prohibited, but still widely used. Why is that so? The usage comes from either of the two reasons: poverty or lack of respect to the content creators.  I personally see a big problem in the second group of people, as it is way bigger than it might seem. Making copying and sharing legal would just stop everyone from paying for the content. Of course, that would solve the problem of the poor layer of society, but I don't think that's the proper solution. I believe, in this situation the country's economical situation is the problem to consider, not the copyright...

I, as millions of other people, would want to achieve something more than average in my financial state. I do see a possibility to reach this goal by creating something outstanding on my own - a mobile app, a game, a program that would change people's live at some level. I would be for sure hoping that my users would pay me for my work the same way as I pay to the content providers of my choice. 

I don't feel any sadness when I transfer my monthly payment to Spotify, as I am grateful to its creators. I do love the service which makes my daily life more convenient, I do love the artists I listen to - and I am willing to pay. I do feel right when I pay 30 euros for a game which was created by a single indie developer, because this guy did a great job and I am grateful to him. 

I think that the solution proposed for the Copyright Reform needs to be more polished. It reminds me of a communist idea, when everything is made smooth and easy for the majority of people, but kills the career opportunities for outstanding personas. I think that the reform would be a great step if an appropriate solution would be offered to content creators who make money on their content. It is their right.