Wired has published an atlas of intellectual property. The downloadable PDFs show that copyright enforcers map onto the developed West and copyright infringers map onto the developing world and the old Eastern Block (with the odd exception - see Norway). Now there’s an interesting use of geocoding.
It strikingly illustrates that copyright issues are tied to broad political concerns. Protection of intellectual property to encourage innovation is the respectable defence in the West for copyright and patent laws and enforcement. But who decides when the benefit to a first-world corporation are outweighed by the potential benefits to a slew of developing countries and their peoples?
As Wired says, it is a culture clash, not an academic legal moot. The article ends with a nod to recent attempts to forge a ‘third way’ — Linux, The Grey Album and The Creative Commons.
