This week the class focused on copyright and copyright laws. There are a few points from theses lectures that I would particularity like to touch on and what their ramifications are for the music industry as a whole.

First off, there are the copy right laws which essentially guarantee the rights to a piece for all of the creators life and then an additional 70 years. This law came into place after it was bumped up from 50 years and life, which was bumped up from life, and so on. These bumps, which were the product of Disney requesting extensions to preserve their vast amount of copyrighted material, have essentially created an infinite copyright. What is interesting about this is the true nature that that these laws really have. Copyright was originally created to protect inventors and keep them creative, however, since copyright laws now extend past the life of a creator, the real benefactor of such laws are corporate entities. While yes families of the creators do benefit, by and large, it is corporations that largely benefit, as essentially they will be able to profit off of copyright indefinitely.

Next, due to Bridgeport VS Dimension, In which Bridgeport music successfully sued Dimension for copyright infringement  it has been established that melodies can be copyrighted. With this in mind, I would like to propose a theory; That copyright law will eventually kill creativity. Logically, as we progress through time, more and more artists will begin to use similar cords, melodies, etc. (a current example of this trend are the many digital remixes of songs that have become immensely popular online). However, with the current copyright laws as well as their likely expansion in the near future, it is possible to think that due to the burden of royalties for simple melodies or cords, as well as the fear of a civil suit (be it frivolous or substantial) will discourage many artists from attempting to either create or share their music. Which presents a very dramatic and very possible irony that copyright laws will end up destroying the very thing they sought to protect- creativity.