Regulating the Consumer Sphere

These recent years have seen internet censorship becoming increasingly rampant - for political reasons, in the name of national security; and the protection of intellectual property. Intellectual property, according to WIPO refers to  creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce, and it is divided into two types: 1) industrial property, and 2) copyright.


Anyone who loves and is part of cyber communities such as the aniotaku or mangaotaku culture (anime-lovers and manga-lovers respectively), would be aware of the recent censorship that has affected all of the community. Many scanlations have been forced to go underground after a crackdown early last year, most of them yaoi and shounen-ai scanlations. This crackdown is a result of one of the big US manga publishers, Tokyopop had shut down their US branch because of narrowing profit margins.


Other manga houses have become alarmed and decided to take strict action against scanlators and manga hosting websites - in the name of protecting intellectual property, and feeding the mangaka's and manhwaga's and the entire publishing team.


Scanlators and Subbers work hard to provide a service free of charge, to share a piece of art with others in the community. A lot of effort has gone into this process and in some cases money for better equipment, to purchase raw materials. And they work more efficiently and are in some cases better as they provide sing-along lyrics and background notes.


As far as I can tell, Manga Publishing Houses and certain Anime Distribution Houses are sponging off the anime community. They choose to pick up projects based on the responses and emerging fans of a particular project nurtured by the anime community, and then try to sell you these items. Not just them, but websites like Mangafox and AnimeTake who earns millions by hosting free content and charging or 'services rendered' on top of that. 


Now, let us fast-forward to the past three days. The Obama administration has in the last 18 months sought to regulate cyberspace - especially promoting the "sanctity" of intellectual property. The question now is "Why?".  


The answer is simple. Election campaigns are expensive and you do need to keep your sponsors happy to ensure they remain your sponsors. Obama is no different. Hollywood has been encountering huge losses in the last few years (it's a recession, whaddya expect?!) and have put pressure on Obama, whom they are sponsoring to protect their interests - hence the SOPA/PIPA.

I have only one thing to say: every one in this world has a right to access cultural materials such as movies, books and music. By 'copyrighting' and attaching a price tag, a huge chunk of what we pay for goes to the advertising fund for their next project. Recent movies and music videos rely on cheap, repetitive content using A-listers, enough to chalk up an audience and make them pay (far too much) for it. 


No one ever question these giant corporations. Our governments are in their pocket, and they're profiting off the middle classes of the world and our governments are just gonna sit back and let it slide.