Norwegan Liberal Party Passes Resolution in Favor of File Sharing

New Proposal Would Move Copyright Laws into the 21st Century

Norway's liberal party, Venstre, has recently passed a resolution that is nothing short of revolutionary-in favor of file sharing. Copyright law is out of date, the party says, echoing a sentiment felt by all teenagers with computers, and new technological developments necessitate a new system. Although copyright laws were initially designed to protect and facilitate the existence of culture, by making it profitable to create content such as books and artwork, technology now makes it such that current copyright laws actually impede the cultural progress that could otherwise take place, by stopping a tremendously efficient mechanism of sharing information. Copyright laws are misused on a massive scale by companies such as those in the music industry, the party says, and a new system is necessary that would facilitate the production of content while at the same time giving users access to it. The new resolution calls for a change of policy in four areas: file sharing, sampling, commercial copyright lifespan, and the use of digital rights management software (DRM).

The Venstre party is in favor of file sharing. Although bans would remain in effect against file sharing for commercial purposes, individual users would be able to fill up their ipods unfettered, under this new proposal. Although the printing of books and the manufacture of CDs is costly, the party argues, file sharing technology has the potential to facilitate mass distribution of the data contained in books and CDs to a wide audience for almost nothing. In fact, file sharing has already made this a reality. By removing restrictions on the practice, many more people would have access to much more music.