Real Pirates Take Back ‘Piracy’ from IP Community
All the talk of pirates from Somalia has this IP lawyer a bit miffed. I’ve gotten used to using the terms “piracy” and “pirate” to describe activities and people related to infringement of intellectual property rights. Unfortunately it looks like I will have to curtail my pirate language in the future so folks do not get confused.
I don’t know when this language first entered the IP lexicon, but it does add a bit of flavor as compared to dry legal terminology such as “infringement.”
Alas, real pirates command more attention with the public, particularly since there are life and death situations out there on the high seas. Let’s be fair, when was the last time a patent infringement case was resolved by a U.S. Navy SEAL sniper?
Hey, that gives me an idea . . .
Anyway, despite what the recording and motion picture industries would have us believe, kids downloading copies of Watchmen is not quite in the same league as murder and kidnap on the high seas.
The real pirates win this language battle hands down.
Copyright infringement is also referred to as “bootlegging”. That word should be safe until prohibition is reintroduced.
Damn, I missed that joke!
Just to be safe, though, I will avoid using that term with respect to IP work if I’m ever in Utah, or any other U.S. jurisdictions that have issues with alcohol.
You are right, piracy gives copyright infringers and people fighting copyright infringement some sort of heroism. The acts of pirates at sea are certainly certainly not conducive to the romantic views some people might have of pirates.
I was always of the opinion that the use of piracy in case of trademark infringments was not correct. But the interesting thing is that the third meaning of ‘piracy’ (so without copyright or anything else) according to Merriam-Webster is “the unauthorized use of another’s production, invention, or conception especially in infringement of a copyright”.
This makes the use of pirated patents and pirated trademarks possible. I do not like these combinations and call me traditional, but I will stick to combinations of pirated copyright and counterfeit trademarks.
What do you think?
Cheers,
Danny