Copyright protection: should it be reduced or strengthened?

Are copyright laws hindering creativity and education? Should copyright holders be further protected? Vote in our poll and share your views!

Should copyright protection be reduced or strengthened?

Intellectual property rights are becoming an increasing source of concern. Copyright laws were created before the advent of the digital era and many claim that they are becoming increasingly ineffective in tackling current intellectual property issues. The Internet is making it very difficult to control the distribution of copyrighted materials. Millions of users exchange copyrighted material using peer-to-peer technology. Moreover to fight internet "piracy" becomes more difficult if we still want to respect the principle of net neutrality and not to discriminate data and content (no blocking, no throttling, no paid prioritization). Copyright laws are important to protect creators' rights and to incentivize innovation. However, copyright laws can also become a barrier for creativity as they limit people's capacity to share artistic and educational content. Although many agree that copyright laws need to be reformed and harmonized across countries, there is no consensus about the direction these reforms should take.

Are you among those who think that copyright protection should be reduced to facilitate dissemination of ideas? Or alternatively do you think that copyright holders should be further protected and rewarded for their input? Should people downloading illegally movies and music be punished?

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