Jason Hardin's Presentation

Jason Hardin’s presentation was enlightening to me since I was not well-informed about copyright laws prior to hearing him. I had no idea about the specificity of the different laws involving copyright, such as Title 17, which considers various factors of defense when an individual is charged with copyright violations. For example, one of these factors is the purpose of reproduction, and Mr. Hardin informed us of a choir teacher who distributed copies of music sheets to his students upon having paid for a single copy- for the purpose of education. Although the cause is to facilitate young people’s learning to play music, which by no means can be considered malicious, I believe that even for the sake of education, one must follow the law. If the choir teacher distributes the copies for 10 years, the amount of income that the lawful creator of that piece fails to receive would be extortionate. I believe this violates the very purpose for which copyright laws were created in 1790: to spur creativity in the arts and sciences, stimulating the economy. If the creator of the music does not receive any reward for his efforts, and no money is put into the economy as a result of people buying the sheets, then the initial function of the laws is taken for granted.