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# Is copyright litigation getting f^$#@*g out of control?
- URL: https://www.drewshannon.net/is-copyright-litigation-getting-f-g-out-of-control/
- Published: 2010-03-03T21:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2010-03-03T21:00:00.000Z
- Author: Drew Shannon
- Tags: #import-tumblr-2026-08-27, writing

**Preface:* This is a bit like Part II of my [“Is the music industry too busy getting in its own way to move forward?”](https://www.drewshannon.net/is-the-music-industry-too-busy-getting-in-its-own-way-to-move-forward/) post from a week or so ago, yet is something I really had no intention of writing. In fact, it may not even be necessary because it’s really just a link dump of a bunch of news stories I’ve been reading lately. Nevertheless, here it is:* ——————————————————————————————————————————————————– Protecting copyrights is important. I think creators of original works have a completely reasonable and understandable desire to protect that work, especially in cases of piracy, [which I’m against](https://www.drewshannon.net/is-the-music-industry-too-busy-getting-in-its-own-way-to-move-forward/). In almost all instances, I’ll err on the side of protecting an artist’s wishes over just about anything else. When I was younger, I was first in line to denounce Metallica for suing Napster. Years later, I think that they had every right to be upset about their music being spread freely around the web. However, I feel like things are starting to get a little out of control. Almost every day, I read a new story about Company X suing Person Y over what seems like the most insignificant “infringement”. I think it could be argued that a lot of these lawsuits are doing more harm than good. As Lawrence Lessig said on a recent appearance on the Colbert Report:

> Artists have not gotten any more money, businesses have not gotten any more profit, and our kids have been turned into criminals. (via [Eff.org](http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/01/larry-lessig-colbert-report?ref=drewshannon.net))

Perhaps it’s high time we rethink copyright law. Consider the following news stories and blog posts from the past few weeks: [ Japanese Collection Society Wants To Charge You For Tweeting Lyrics](http://techdirt.com/articles/20100303/0414578388.shtml?ref=drewshannon.net) [Would 2010 Steve Jobs Sue 1996 (Or 1984) Steve Jobs Over Patents?](http://techdirt.com/articles/20100302/1303598369.shtml?ref=drewshannon.net) [Copyright Law vs. Art As A Shared Experience](http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2010/02/copyright-law-art-as-a-shared-experience.html?ref=drewshannon.net) [Cute baby video wins battle against music label](http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6200QZ20100301?type=technologyNews&ref=drewshannon.net) [Colbert Takes On Ridiculous Restrictions Over Talking About The Olympics](http://techdirt.com/articles/20100223/1517128275.shtml?ref=drewshannon.net) [As EMI Cites Harvey Danger Lipdub As Inducing Infringement, Harvey Danger Singer Says Lipdub Makes Him Incredibly Happy](http://techdirt.com/articles/20100127/1524037949.shtml?ref=drewshannon.net) With all of these lawsuits, I can’t help but think we’re living in a Twilight Zone alternate universe where [The Onion](http://www.theonion.com/content/index?ref=drewshannon.net) headlines are taking over. Does Prince really think that a simple home video threatens his rights and bank account? I could go on and on about each of the articles, pulling out quotes and explaining why the lawsuits seem frivolous and counter-productive to me, but I won’t. People much smarter and more eloquent than I have gone on ad nauseam, and I mostly agree. That’s not to say that these lawsuits are completely without merit. Lawyers are getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect valuable copyrights while I, with too much time on my hands, lob bricks at “the man”. It’s easy for me to sit here and say that a record label suing a woman for posting a video of her baby dancing to Prince is bullshit, and I’m not so naive as to think that these issues are as simple as I’m making them. Still, I can’t help but think that this is wrong.