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Week 9: Mar. 5ReadingPlease readIntellectual Property Intellectual Property (IP) legislation defines ownership and copyright of such expressions as books, newspapers, magazines, works of art, sound recordings, films, radio and television broadcasts, software etc. Canada's Bill C-32 attempts to regulate unauthorized use of intellectual property, especially difficult in a time of transition from analogue to digital media. In many cases, the "theft" of IP does not remove the original, only makes a copy of it; the infringement is thus difficult to detect. The technology of the Internet encourages the widespread distribution of content, and most of this content can be quickly and easily copied and transformed.Questions of intellectual property have also been complicated by the postmodern aesthetic which often makes extensive use of sampling, versioning, and collaging of sound and visual elements to make new works of art. And there has been an active debate on the question of intellectual property between content providers--such as publishers and artists--who want more comprehensive legislation, and users who insist that freedom of expression, education, and cultural criticism take precedence over the rights of ownership. While the anti-copyright movement insists that "information wants to be free," those in favour of strong copyright legislation see it as the foundation of secure commerce in an information economy.  Robert Rauschenberg, 1991
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