if you could make copyrights illegal, would you? why?

No. Copyrights themselves are not bad at all, the problem is more related to abuse of copyrights and other misuses of the legal system associated with some of the largest holders of copyrights. A person's creative work is just as much their own as any physical work done and to forbid copyrights discourages a lot of people from creating anything. Deciding whether or not to make one's own work available to the public for "sharing" is a personal decision and can't or at least shouldn't be so easily taken away.

That said, copyright law needs to be heavily reformed. It used to be the case that copyright would expire after a reasonable amount of time and the penalties for violations used to be much more manageable. Another good question is whether or not copyright laws as we know them are sustainable in the Internet age. The companies that are doing best often aren't as concerned with copyright as they are with attracting paying customers through their attention, customer service and other immaterial benefits that can't or won't be secured if the user acquires the product illegally, but this still doesn't adequately protect creative venues, as books, music, movies and other creative outlets rarely require technical support or customer service issues. By restricting the amount of time that copyright laws will hold sway it is possible that reasonable protection of copyright for those things can be done much more effectively while costing society less. Meanwhile, in the Internet Age, we're seeing much fewer instances of old abuses such as producing an entire record with one good song and charging a small fortune for a disc that contains 15 other songs you hate!

By sharing, I assume you mean stealing. If you want to be like China, where every other fast food chain is a McDunalds or a MacDonalds, mooching off of someone else's success, then sure, eliminate copyright laws. But considering the fact that you just want to get your music for free rather than paying the artist who spent time and money producing the music, no, I would never support the removal of such important laws. I would rather be able to buy something without first double checking that it is the product I wanted, and not a knock off.

The Islamic Fiqh Council which was held to discuss moral rights issued the following statements:

Firstly: trade names, company names, trademarks, writings and inventions are all the copyright of their owners or authors, which in modern practice have acquired monetary value. These rights are respected by sharee’ah and it is not permissible to transgress against them.

Secondly: It is permissible to dispose of a trade name, company name or trademark, and to transfer any of them in return for financial compensation, provided that this is not for the purpose of deceit or fraud, given that this has become a financial right.

Thirdly: the owner of these rights has the right to dispose of them and no one should transgress against them.

The Scholars of the Standing Committee for Academic Research said:

There is nothing wrong with recording and selling useful tapes, or copying and selling books, because that is helping to spread knowledge, unless their authors have said that this is not allowed, in which case it cannot be done without their permission.

Depends. Copyrights are supposed to protect the artist. When they start protecting the corporate publisher of the art instead, then I'm all in favor of circumventing them. But I think there should still be something to protect the artist, who deserves consideration for the labor of coming up with the art -- and you who enjoy their art ought to be willing to pay something for it. All very well to say "It should be free" but how is the artist who produced the art supposed to live? "Do not bind the mouths of the kine," etc.

I would change the way copyrights work, not make them illegal. But the system we have now just doesn't work.

No. Why should I spend years honing my skill and lots of money to publish a song or book and get nothing back for it? Do you not understand that this is their JOB? This is how they pay their rent and buy food??? Would you work for free? After all, say you're a mechanic, isn't it "sharing" to fix my car with your SKILL and TIME that you are SHARING with me??

Given current technology, that would guarantee that no one could ever make a living as an author. It would destroy the music and movie industries.

copyright = good for holder, bad for society.

problem of course is that there is no incentive for inventiveness and innovation would slow down to a crawl.

I agree with you Jose. I don't care who takes credit for an invention. As long the invention helps other people its source doesn't matter.