Whether or not you supported Obama is irrelevant. He is our next president, so try to move past the differences and look at the positives. One major positive that I'm excited about is Obama's stance on technology. From what Obama has been saying through much his running and from his newly updated website change.gov, he plans on some major improvements in many areas. The topics that really stand out for me, an entrepreneur and professional in the field of media arts and communications, are infrastructure improvements and intellectual property reform.

Broadband

"As a country, we have ensured that every American has access to telephone service and electricity, regardless of economic status, and Obama will do likewise for broadband Internet access." The US is far behind many other countries in availability of broadband service, and in most areas the broadband that is available is of poor quality - especially mobile broadband service. I recently returned from a 3 week trip in Japan. Everyone has a cellphone and they are used for significantly more uses than calling people. After some research, I turned up an article which stated that there are more Japanese who have broadband on their phones than the total number of people that have broadband service anywhere in the US (including broadband at home as well as mobile broadband). The stereotype that technology in Japan is advanced is legitimate, but very often exaggerated. The US could easily catch up, and hopefully with Obama at the helm, will do just that.

Intellectual Property

"The Motion Picture Association of America estimates that in 2005, more than nine of every 10 DVDs sold in China were illegal copies. The U.S. Trade Representative said 80 percent of all counterfeit products seized at U.S. borders still come from China." I am a supporter of giving credit where it's due and paying for things that are used. Many Asian countries (especially China) blatantly support the illegal market of counterfeit products and that not only hurts our economy, but devalues the work that we, as professionals, produce. This isn't just a foreign problem, we have a serious domestic problem as well. Billions of dollars are lost every year because of illegal music or movie downloads made by American citizens and those abroad. The reason for this isn't because people are criminals, it's because the RIAA and MPAA refuse to adapt to a changing world of instant-access media. They have made vast improvements over recent years, with the creation of iTunes and the thousand or so other major sellers of purely digital downloadable media stores, but even that has been fought over tooth and nail.

We, as users (and especially as Americans), want instant gratification and we'll get it one way or another. Whether that means we break copyright law to download that new episode of The Office or buy it on iTunes. Our laws relating to patents, copyright and intellectual property are extraordinarily out of date. Obama proposes reform which promises to "promote civic discourse, innovation and investment while ensuring that intellectual property owners are fairly treated." As vague as that is, at least he's acknowledging that it's something that needs to be fixed.

A way to tell if it's change we should support? See if the RIAA and MPAA support it, then do the opposite. As much as I support giving credit where it's due (in this case in the form of money), I have found over the years that the RIAA and MPAA are greedy and only care about getting their member companies more money - even if it means hindering their customers a significant amount. They release copy protection that installs virus and monitoring software (Sony BMG). They openly protest and lobby against advancing media technology and practices (not to mention fair use).

The only problem I have so far with this planned "change" so far is that it's hard to tell what kind of change to expect. I want to believe that Obama will be smart enough to push intellectual property reform in the right direction, but Biden's voting history supports claims of a pro-RIAA connection - which I find very disturbing.

Call to Action

What can you do to help? Besides praying, check out change.gov and check out the "submit your ideas" area to "be part of the change you're looking for." Tell Obama the problems with intellectual property and how you think IP law should be changed.