Short Essay 1

Alexander Kowalski

WRIT 1122

Professor Leake

February 11, 2013

Introduction to “Pirates of the Caribbean: Rewritten”

Not long after beginning what I thought would be a very prolonged and dreadful

search for an article post from a blog that I would soon rewrite for a different audience

than originally intended, I came across the website “Freakonomics.” There, I found

an article called “Pirates of the Caribbean” that is based on the rumors that the two

Caribbean islands, Antigua and Barbuda, are somehow creating a legal version of

pirating software under certain regulations set by WTO (World Trade Organization).

The irony behind this is that the WTO’s main goal was originally to protect such

intellectual property that is most commonly pirated online. Coming from a website such

as “Freakonomics,” which is predominantly tailored for the interests of people that are

concerned with the economical aspect of the events that are going on in the world, this

article included many facts pertaining to the WTO, how the two countries are able to

“operate their own national versions of the Pirate Bay,” (Raustiala & Sprigman 1) and

past trade courts that occurred between the Caribbean islands and the U.S. Rather than

taking an approach similar to the one just explained, I will be rewriting this article in a

manner that it will be directed to an audience of music enthusiasts in order to ignite the

discussion on whether or not it is right to pirate music.

Link to article:http://www.freakonomics.com/2013/01/30/pirates-of-the-caribbean/

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Rewritten”

As I’m sure all of you rolling stones like staying up to date with what is going in

the world of music, you’d be glad to be informed that there has been a new breakthrough

in respect to pirating. According to “Yahoo News”, “The islands of Antigua and

Barbuda are threatening to strip intellectual property protections from American goods as

a part of a long-running trade dispute over the U.S. embargo on the tiny Caribbean

nation’s online gambling industry.” (Satter 1)

Not only is this a serious situation for the U.S. to be in, but also it will directly

affect the artists whose “intellectual property” will be jeopardized even more than prior

to the change. Thanks to the age of technology that we have now been a part of for about

two decades now, people are able to get things that would normally have to be paid for

with no charge. Without knowing the personalities of my readers, I already know that

some of you have already used websites that offer pirated property. Heck, some of you

might even have some music downloading on your pirating software as you read this

article. On the other side of the spectrum, there are those readers that are still to this day

either buying records from their local Best Buy, using their countless iTunes cards that

they have received over several years of holiday and birthday gifts, or buying the music

directly off of the artists’ websites.

Now my question to you all is, are you going to partake in the practical stealing of

another person’s work or will you rise above it and make the right moral decisions?