Can I call the police if someone rapes my Intellectual Property rights?

Intellectual Property

Several years ago I began announcing to all who would listen that, "All my images, words, etc. are copyright by me. All rights reserved." I even emblazoned it on a T shirt.

Intellectual Property is the lifeblood of the World Wide Web, and most of it is owned by 6 of the world's largest corporations.

My Brand

So where does that leave you and me and being able to control our own stuff?

Without a large Intellectual Property law firm, probably nowhere.

Can I call the police if someone rapes my Intellectual Property rights?

Or, is the digital age the end of Intellectual Property rights?

 Ponder This

Am I allowed to record my own life?

One would think so, wouldn't one?

But there are many exceptions.

I can take copious notes on a telephone conversation, but I cannot mechanically record it in most jurisdictions without notifying those who are on the line with me.

If I buy a ticket to a live concert or performance, I can use my video camera up to the door, but once inside, the ticket gives me the rights to a one-time only observation. I can take notes with a pencil (if I can write in the dark), but not with a camera.

Does my purchase of a pay-per-view movie entitle me to record it?

Did they tell me that purchase of a DVD entitles me to view it only on machines programmed for the "region" the DVD is for? I thought I purchased world-wide rights. Or even the universe ­ after all, Mars is only a few years away.

Read the Electronic Front Foundation's take on new efforts to restrict consumer copying of HDTV.