Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T19:33:00.307Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

19 - Morality in Cyberspace: Intellectual Property and the Right to Information

from Part Two - Human Rights Issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2012

Maushumi Guha
Affiliation:
Jadavpur University
Amita Chatterjee
Affiliation:
Jadavpur University
Get access

Summary

The emergence of the Internet as a popular means of creation and dispersal of intellectual goods has caused ripples of dissent among experts in intellectual property rights. The quarrel is between those who think that the Internet upholds the right to information and those who see it as a representative of the right to profit from intellectual goods. Those who value the Internet for its potential to encourage a free flow of information across geographical and political boundaries recognise the right to information as a basic human right. Those who value the Internet only for its commercial potential violate that right and impede the free flow of information across the Net. Information is power. The right to information must, therefore, be recognised as a basic human right and must be respected in order to make sure that individuals across the world stand at an equal footing. With this in view, we give moral support to those who uphold the free flow of information across the Internet and voice our protest against those who have only profit-making in mind, heedless of the needs and rights of many.

Information technology has progressed in leaps and bounds in the past few decades. Not only have IT-related advances been fast, the public has been quick to adopt them in real life. But just as in other technological spheres, the growing use of computers, predominantly the Internet, has given rise to a fresh set of moral issues.

Type
Chapter
Information
Applied Ethics and Human Rights
Conceptual Analysis and Contextual Applications
, pp. 253 - 264
Publisher: Anthem Press
Print publication year: 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×