I’ll admit it: I’m a criminal. I have knowingly broken the law, and now I must face the dire consequences. As I receive my sentence, there are no tears; there is no remorse. There is only me, screaming at my computer screen: “Who do you think you are, YouTube? You can’t take my video off the Internet!” It turns out they can. In fact, they should.

Today you’ll learn you’re a criminal, too. Everyone has committed copyright infringement at some point in his or her life. Maybe you haven’t had video-uploading issues. But have you ever burned a CD? Let your friends watch a new DVD you just purchased? Blasted music in your car with the windows down? Attempted to carry the tune of “Happy Birthday?” Well, then you have violated copyright law, and that makes you a criminal. Just like me. 

In America, the land of the free and the right to “get rich quick,” we need copyright laws to ensure our citizens will be able to make millions by simply purchasing the rights to a piece of intellectual property — a song, photograph, painting, book, etc. — and demanding money each time someone else makes use of that property. Or maybe it’s to ensure artists maintain control over their work and can actually profit from it before anyone steals it and tries to claim it as his or her own — it’s hard to tell.

We have to remember most of these copyrights are no longer owned by artists and authors, the creators of the copyrighted material; they’re owned by corporations. And corporations like Warner Music Group aren’t snatching videos from YouTube because they’re worried about the integrity and originality of their artists’ work — they want money. 

The line between what copyrights protect and what they restrict has been quickly fading in recent years, and the advent of the Internet has nearly wiped it away altogether.

The U.S. Copyright Office currently defines copyright as a form of intellectual property law that “protects original works of authorship.” This includes written works as well as music and art. Basically, when it comes to creative works, if it didn’t come from your body or brain, it’s not yours; therefore, you pretty much can’t use it. Sure, you can try to get permission or buy the rights to whatever it is you’re aiming to use, but it’s not really worth the effort if all you’re trying to do is show your friends a cool two- to three- minute video you made. Thus, everyone (including myself) seems to be putting their own creativity and ideas before the law; the rules obviously need some tweaking.

It would be one thing if the majority of copyright violations caused serious harm, but that’s simply not the case. Most of these violations are only missed opportunities to gain profits. We need to reexamine copyright law and weigh its costs and benefits. Who is reaping the benefits? Not artists. Who is paying the costs? Not thieves and plagiarizers. 

What it all comes down to is a simple difference in point of view. Copyright owners want us to just consume their products — listen to a song, watch a movie, read a book — but we want more. We want to create, to be inspired, to share. And those are positive things, not negative. Copyright law needs to be reformed so it protects the right things and punishes the right people.