Category Archives: Unit 9

The ability to own the work that you have created is the central point to this argument. At what point in the arts is the original piece owned by the artist, and how much protection can that artist have over it? I think that there are two important aspects to the art; one, the artist should own and control all original copies and reproductions of the art they create. Nothing should be able to use the art that one individual or group created without their permission. An example of this was the work of DangerMouse who took not only one artist’s work, but also a group’s work and combined them into something “new”. While The Grey Album was technically a new piece, there was not enough variation from the originals to make it a unique piece of art. While there was an argument about this being part of the new culture, stating, “The swift and draconian legal reaction to the online dissemination of this technically illegal but culturally fascinating artifact gave rise to a “day of digital civil disobedience,” organized by music activism group Downhill Battle” (Howard-Spink), I do not feel that this is the proper way of posing this argument. The copyright laws were originally intended to protect artist from having their hard work stolen. To me this is no different than the patent rights arguments that are being discussed all the time. The producer of the original should have control of their work. For artists this means, “Artists want their expressions framed just as they intended it” (Lessig). At the same time there is a need to keep the artistic world as open to expression as possible. To do this copyright laws should have a tiered system that institutes fines or fees for use of only a part of an artist’s work, and then severe penalties for completely taking it.

Howard, Spink (2005). Grey Tuesday, online cultural activism and the mash-up of music and politics. First Monday. Web.

Lessig, L. (2008). Comparing Cultures. Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy (pp. 84-116). New York: Penguin Press HC, The.