The Cat Nobody Likes
             "COPY-CAT!!!" a child yells out to a peer who has copied his new-found idea. Many of us have used this term, yet do we really understand the depth of what we are saying? In today's world, there exists a large number of "copy-cats," those who replace their own thoughts and ideas with that of other people's. Copyright is defined by Webster's Dictionary as the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish and sell the matter and form (as of literary, musical, or artistic work). These words and ideas are what many writers and thinkers like to call intellectual property, something that is taken very seriously. The creators of these ideas are trying to protect their property by creating new laws against copyrighters as well as setting a higher form punishment for those who engage in this activity. In fact, Charles C. Mann describes these words as something that someone "owns" (676). The question is, though, does anyone really own these original ideas, or should they be free for everybody's use?
             It is simple for one to understand the annoyance of their mental property being stolen. According to Ellen Goodman, those who work with words oppose bootlegged editions of CD's, books, and software that appear on black markets (699). However, the people that make this claim must realize that the feneral public would rather obtain entertainment for free opposed to paying a price for it. If someone can acquire their favorite song, quote, movie, etc. for no price, then why pay a price at all? The fact of the matter is that aggravations such as these will never end; no law can put a stop to copyrighting, and no teaching of moral value can end it, which is what people must understand. On the controversy of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, his family wants to charge people and companies to utilize his words for a...