Remix Discussion
There seemed to be a common theme with all of the sources from this week. They all share the conclusion that for creativity to exist in the modern technological world, current copyright laws cannot continue in the way they operate now. This is something that I am very interested in learning more about and what ideas there are to combat abuse and overuse of these laws. There are organizations that are “patent trolls” that exists for the sole purpose of exploiting these laws to make a profit and stifle creativity, there is a clear problem in how the law is written and implemented that needs real solutions. You cannot completely eliminate copyrights; artists should receive fair compensation for the use of their work in commercial settings. However the current system is clearly broken. In the “Remixing Culture” reading the point is made that remixes are content creators being inspired to creativity by the creativity of the ones who they remix. The TED talk pushes this further and talks about the fact that not only do copyright laws stifle the creativity of these remix artists who express our culture in a way that is technically illegal, they create a reality in which the young people of today live their lives against the law and do so knowingly because the laws are unjust. This is a symptom of the sickness of the system which the TED talk names “The Prohibition” in which so many of the activities in which people participate in are technically illegal that they have no choice but to live their lives unlawfully.
Filed under Unit 09 | Comments (2)2 Responses to “Remix Discussion”
I found your synopsis of the articles very fascinating and provides great insight into the overall theme behind the articles. I too agree that current copyright laws are restricting to society. Although blatant copying of content, products or works is a serious crime and laws should be implemented to prevent these measures from taking place, the overprotective organizations completely deter creativity and can be a serious restriction on society. When people are unable to express themselves because it may be similar to another product, even without the intention of copying, this can ruin the life and inspirations of people. When copyrighting can be as serious as trying to copyright “black writing on a white background” it then becomes all about the money and creativity and freedom is restricted. People should have the opportunity to freely create and develop their ideas, without the thought of losing money over it. When copyright law becomes too serious and too specified, it can ruin the creativity of society. Overall, I loved your summary into the articles and videos. Great work.
I think that how the problem with copyrights system is not that there are a lot of ‘patent trolls’, but that people are unable to reinforce intellectual property laws. Intellectual property could be very intangible and hard to measure, therefore, we should realize that in order to create a better copyright system, we also need to have more advanced technology.