Example: “Happy Birthday”
o Written by a school teacher in 1800s
o Now rights are owned by Time Warner until 2020
Should ideas become property? What might be the motivations?
o Jealousy, greed
o Profit
o Societal benefit
o Distribution
Is creating a work of art purely for profit something that can be considered manipulative?
o In this case, should they be given the right to intellectual property for so long if its being created for profit as these creations tend to be?
Copyrighting – When created, a copyright is automatically associated with the creative work.

Patenting
o Patents expire much sooner than intellectual property rights
o Human genome has been widely patented
o Drugs that can impact survival are patented – generics must wait until patent has expired to provide for much less money
Should organisms be patented?
o Drugs – penicillin is a common, useful organism
o Is right over that life automatically bad? Ex: organism used to break down crude oil has been patented.
What about differences in country laws?
o Child pornography – viewable in one country, but not another? In Soviet Russia CP watches you.
o Should an international standard be reached to prevent such discrepancies?

Topic: Burqas in France

Sarkozy announced in June that burqas were “not welcome” in France.

What are the possible benefits of banning dress and symbols such as the burqa?

• Women are not oppressed, treated like property
• Many women are forced to wear the burqa by family
• Reduce abuse in religious community due to visibility

What are the drawbacks?

• Revocation of the option to wear the burqa removes a right women previously had
• When you make something taboo, people cling to it – create an alternative, attractive culture
• Infringing upon the personal, non-offensive wear of the religious

Is the state justified in taking such action against personal religious symbols?

• Separation of church and state has benefitted the religious as well as the non-religious
• One must determine the infringement upon personal rights
• Is the law motivated by nationalism/overbearing secularism taking away personal right to religious expression?
• The secular members of society expect freedom from oppression – applying this same oppression to the way of life for the religious can be seen as hypocritical and counter-productive
• In a blanket ban on the burqa, you eliminate the choice of women who are not being forced to wear it
• Many women see the burqa for its original purpose – modesty to avoid being objectified

Why might France seek to outlaw the wearing of the burqa?

• Oppressive of women
• Hides identity of wearer – possible hidden threat
• Religious symbols are already banned in French schools – children cannot wear crucifixes or any other type of outward religious symbolism