When it comes to digital content, the ownership issue gets grayer and grayer. This interesting information came to us from Copyright and Technology in their article, “What Does Ownership Mean in the Digital Age?”
When you purchase from a digital content retail service, do you actually own what you’ve paid money for? Most retailers’ terms of service would tell you no, but who reads those?
The fact is you are licensing it on some terms that the retailer sets. Legal scholars Aaron Perzanowski and Jason Schultz consider this a problem. In their recent book, The End of Ownership: Personal Property in the Digital Economy, they share some incisive ideas about digital personal property and raise an important issue about ownership.
We are subject to limitations on our use and handling of those objects that are imposed by both law and technology. The authors pose important questions about what property really means in the digital age and what should be done about it in law.
Melody K. Smith
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