Week 8 - Creatively Common

As the Doctorow reading points out, the real problem arising from traditional copyright laws is that on the internet, they are largely unenforceable. I imagine that as an extension of that, the only way to track violators of copyright laws would be to violate privacy laws. Not only as a moral debate but as a legal debate, is the chasing down of what might turn out to be the majority of the population legal or even practical? Big companies that want to sue pirates for millions in damages are ultimately alienating their consumers and also removing their ability to be a consumer. If I were sued into bankruptcy and destitution I've lost my ability to be a legitimate consumer, therefore I've lost incentive to avoid piracy. As a creator however, what concerns me more than the thought of someone else making money off my work (which would be the situation as a published author, if I ever finished anything) I despair at the thought of someone taking credit for my work and ideas, claiming them as their own, so I find that the creative commons revolution is something of a progressive step, as long as the author of borrowed work is acknowledged, we're getting somewhere.