I am going to ask you to look at this video, it’s one of the most comprehensive looks at where technology has been, legal principles associated with innovation, computer science principles (watch for a reference to Alan Turing), and a prediction of where technology is headed from 2004 when this presentation was recorded.

If you haven’t picked up on it, I think this video is very important to understand and assimilate into your thinking as you plan your professional future.

http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~felten/rip/

There are numerous formats found there although I highly suggest you set aside enough time to focus on the the video and don’t just rely on the audio version or the transcript (which is also there).

Although if you are like me, it might be helpful to have a copy of the transcript handy as you work on the paper I am requesting you to compose for the midterm.

The presenter in the video, Prof. Ed Felten is one of my heroes and some of the intellectual property topic he previews will be revisited in the learning module in this course. 

But, I am getting ahead of myself.

For the exam, after watching the Rip, Mix, and Burn video, please compose a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point type, Times-New Roman – all college writing rules apply such as grammar, spelling and CITATIONS/Bibliography) where you address the following topics:

1. What if the SONY Betamax case had gone the other way as the Supreme Court WAS going to rule?
2. As you see in the video, trade organizations such as the MPAA and RIAA (and others) have consistently tried to frighten the public (and lawmakers) into passing ever more restrictive intellectual property legislation.  What do YOU think about this?
3. This video was recorded in 2004.  Has the “Celestial Jukebox” arrived? If so, provide examples.