Pirates and Piracy

Hello everyone. I am not sure if all of you got to read Lessig's chapters on pirates and piracy. It was a very interesting read. It gave me a whole new perspective on filmmaking, music, and cable tv. Before these innovations were created, there were "pirates" that help form these innovations that we know of today. Lessig describes these piracy acts. He states,"Because of this gap in the law, then, I could effectively pirate someone else’s song without paying its composer anything. . . . Because the device that Sony built had a “record” button, the device could be used to record copyrighted movies and shows. Sony was therefore benefiting from the copyright infringement of its customers. It should therefore, Disney and Universal claimed, be partially liable for that infringement". Lessig argues that these "pirates" helped Congress to create the copyright law. This law helps us today when we see a movie, download music online or to our MP3 player, and record a television show. When you get a chance to read the chapters, let me know what you think about Lessig's argument.