User:RoboElephant/Digital media

Copyright Challenges:
Digital Media

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Digital media are numerical networks of interactive systems that link databases that allow users to navigate from one bit of content or webpage to another. Because of this ease, digital media poses several challenges to the current copyright and intellectual property laws. The effortlessness of creating, modifying, and sharing digital media can make copyright enforcement challenging. Many copyright laws are widely seen as outdated. For example, under current copyright law, common internet memes are generally illegal to share in many countries. Legal rights can be unclear for many common internet activities'''. These include posting pictures from someone else's social media account, writing fanfiction, or covering and/or using popular songs in content such as YouTube videos. Over the last decade, the concepts of fair use and copyright is being applied to all different types of''' online media.

Copyright challenges is spreading to all parts of digital media. '''Content creators on platforms such as YouTube, must follow guidelines set by copyright and IP laws and the platform's copyright guidelines. If these guidelines are not followed, the content will likely get demonetized, deleted, or criticized. In some instances content creators can be sued. Often times the situation occurs when creators accidentally use audio tracks or background scenes that are under copyright. To avoid or resolve some of these issues, content creators can voluntarily adopt open or copyleft licenses or they can release their work to the public domain.By doing this, creators are giving up some legal rights associated with their content. Fair use is a doctrine of the US Copyright Law that allows limited use of copyrighted materials without the need to obtain permission. There are four factors that make up fair use. The first factor is purpose. Purpose means what the content is being used for, in reference to commercial, nonprofit, or educational purposes. Also, if the use adds a new aspect or meaning to the content. The second factor is what the copyrighted content is. If the content is non-fiction, it is more likely to full under fair use than if the content is a work of fiction. The third factor is how much of the copyrighted content is in use. Small pieces are more likely to be considered fair than large chunks or the real "meat" of the content. The last factor is, will the use of the copyrighted content earn money or effect the value of the content.'''

Wikipedia uses some of the most common open licenses, Creative Commons and the GNU Free Documentation License. Open licenses are part of a broader open content movement which pushes for the reduction or removal of copyright restrictions from software, data, and other digital media. To facilitate the collection and consumption of such licensing information and availability status, tools have been developed like the Creative Commons Search engine, used mostly for web images, and Unpaywall, used for scholarly communication.

Additional software has been developed in order to restrict access to digital media. Digital rights management (DRM) is used to lock material'''. This allows users to apply the media content to''' specific cases. For example, DRM allows movie producers to rent at a lower price instead of selling the movie at a higher one. This restricts the movie rental license length, rather than only selling the movie at full price. Additionally, DRM can prevent unauthorized modification or sharing of media.

'''Digital media copyright protection technologies fall under the umbrella of intellectual property protection technology. This is because a series of computer technologies protect the digital content being created and transmitted.  The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides safe harbor to intermediaries that host user content, such as YouTube, from being held liable for copyright infringement so long as they meet all required conditions. The most notable of which is the "notice and take down" policy. The policy requires online intermediaries to remove and/or disable access to the content in question when there are court orders and/or allegations of illegal use of content on their site.  As a result, YouTube has and continues to develop more policies and standards that go far past what the DMCA requires. YouTube has also created an algorithm which continuously scans their cite to make sure all content follows all policies. '''

Online magazines or digital magazines are one of the first and largest targets for copyright issues. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations report from March 2011, the definition of this medium is when a digital magazine involves the distribution of a magazine content by electronic means; it may be a replica. This definition can be considered outdated now that PDF replicas of print magazines are no longer common practice. These days digital magazines refer to magazines specifically created to be interactive digital platforms such as internet, mobile phones, private networks, iPad, or other device. The barriers for digital magazine distribution are thus decreasing. However, these platforms are also broadening the scope of where digital magazines can be published'''. Smartphones being a prime example. Thanks to the improvements of tablets and other personal electronic devices, digital magazines have become much more readable and enticing through the use of graphic art. Over time, the evolution of online magazines began to focus on becoming more of a social media and entertainment platforms.''' '''Online piracy has become one of the larger issues that have occurred in regards to digital media copyright. The piracy of digital media, such as film and television, directly impact the copyright party (the owner of the copyright). This action can impact the "health" of the digital media industry. Piracy directly breaks laws and morals of copyright. Along with piracy digital media has contributed to the ability to spread false information or fake news. Due to the widespread use of digital media, fake news is able to receive more notoriety. This notoriety enhances the negative effects fake news creates. As a result, peoples' health and well-being can directly be affected. '''