When We Copy, We Justify It; When Others Copy, We Vilify Them
from the everything-is-a-remix dept
We've written multiple times about Kirby Ferguson's excellent Everything is a Remix project that has produced three videos highlighting the problems and history of intellectual property and how copying and derivative works are a core element of culture and invention. He's now released the fourth and final installment in the series, and it's a great summary look at the general problems with intellectual property law today.As he notes, this is psychologically understandable. It's all about "loss aversion." People feel a sense that they "own" something which they really do not -- and that's often boosted by the concepts of intellectual property that really spread the idea that you can, in fact, own an idea (and, yes, technically neither copyright nor patents apply directly to "ideas," but that's a nuance that most people fail to grasp when they see how content and inventions are considered "owned" under the laws of today).
The video then talks about the continued expansion of copyright laws, and the more nefarious effort to continue to ratchet things up through trade agreements like ACTA and TPP. But he also points out that this is somewhat ironic, since in its early years, the US refused to sign similar trade agreements, and was a "pirate nation" that ignored copyrights from around the globe.
The video doesn't just cover copyrights, but digs into patents as well -- with specific attention paid to broad software patents that do little to contribute any knowledge to the world, but instead take broad concepts and seek to lock them up for the purpose of suing and trying to extract settlements from those actually creating and innovating.
From there he breaks out the original purpose of both copyrights and patents under the US system. In both cases, they were about benefiting the public: to encourage learning or to promote the progress of "useful" arts (inventions). But when the laws fail to do that, then we should see the system as broken and seek to remedy it.
All in all, Ferguson's series is a great introduction to many of the issues we cover around here. I don't fully agree with everything in all of the videos -- and the latest one has a slight undertone suggesting that capitalism and markets in and of themselves are bad (which I think is conflating a few different issues). But overall the videos are fantastic -- and in terms of production quality, it seems like each one in the series is better than the previous one. He keeps maturing as a video maker, which is cool to see. Ferguson is now moving on to a new project, called This is Not a Conspiracy Theory, for which he's raising funds on Kickstarter, so check it out.
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Filed Under: copying, copyright, everything is a remix, intellectual property, kirby ferguson, loss avoidance, patents, property, remix
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A remix of concepts (say space aliens, space ship, ruler of the universe) is different from taking a copy of the star wars film and putting different voices on it.
Everything is a remix is a nice propaganda slogan for "it's okay to pirate". Just fess up to it and get it over with.
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I can see allowing companies to touch-up and re-release an old film, but only the touched-up version should be covered by copyright, not the original/prior-versions.
The touched-up version would effectively be a derived film with added "value", which fits with our current rules.
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The Slave Traders of Our Ideas
Thanks to them, the production costs of raw matter dropped, what in turn fueled the manufacturing and trade of derivative goods. The benefits of their trade allowed the capital required to create new ventures and to pay for the productive means required to boost our industrial revolution.
Didn't they deserve the right to own their slaves and get a profit for their work in exchange for their immense service to humankind?
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Of course not, you just assume it's Pro-Piracy.
Guess what?
Copyright infringement is NOT stealing.
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Mike is conflating the issues.
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The issue I have is that those who seek to pirate by remixing are trying to ride on the coat tales of the more innocuous "inspired by" concept. I can be inspired by Star Wars to write a book about space, but it doesn't give me a right to just copy their product outright, doing cut and paste from their scripts. That is the difference.
There is a huge difference, but these guys are trying hard to disguise it.
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Some good reading: http://www.edwardsamuels.com/copyright/beyond/articles/ideapt1-20.htm
http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/I dea-expression_dichotomy
International perspective: http://www.jiclt.com/index.php/jiclt/article/download/50/49 [pdf]
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And, again, cut and paste isn't being suggested here. Which is why you have to look so hard to find it.
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Yes, I've been wondering why you post the same bullshit all the time as well.
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Yes, and that's a nice bright-line distinction with absolutely no grey area at all. Thank you for solving a problem the courts have grappled with for years in a single sentence - very impressive.
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Re: Re: Re: pfft
;-P
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"All art is propaganda. It is universally and inescapably propaganda; sometimes unconsciously, but often deliberately, propaganda." - Upton Sinclair
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ezeYJUz-84
Tell me again that this is not creative? Sure, it is highly derivative, but there was an awful lot of creativity into making it (for free, I might add) and I for one found it to be an awesome addition to the universe.
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Wonderful.
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I think it's clear that we'd all be worse off as a culture if asinine absolutes like 'taking a copy of the star wars film and putting different voices on it' were the limit of the subtleties of our copyright system.
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Four hours and 6 minutes of creamy goodness. (Movie is actually 2 hours and 3 minutes -- but you'll find yourself watching it twice just to catch what you missed the first time.)
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He remixed some of the best and worst of 1950s Sci-Fi movies (including gooofy robots), some of the best and worst of 1920s and 30s Sci-Fi short stories and novels and, most notably, for the emperor, borrowed freely from Issac Asimov's character The Mule from the Foundation Trilogy.
So Lucas MUST be a pirate, right?
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Apple: When We Copy, We Justify It; When Others Copy, We Sue Them
Android Adding in slide to open camera? We'll take it
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WOW
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about par for the course, really. dont do what i do, do what i tell you!
wonder if Kirby Ferguson has remembered to copyright his works, before someone from the MPAA or similar tries to.
(sarc intended)
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Saying that our country was founded as a "pirate nation" is wrong at so many levels I have to wonder if the basic concept of the sovereignty of nations and their laws is even understood.
I will admit it is a very well done video. I cannot, however, say the same for most of its content regarding patent and copyright law.
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The problem is that the idea/expression dichotomy is not and has never been clear. It is highly subjective and comes down to the whims of the judge. There is no simple definition to separate an idea from an expression - like the Star Wars example used above: space emperors and starships? That's an idea. Exact characters and storyline? That's an expression. But what about all the stuff in between? What about a brand new story set in the same universe? Or one that had very close analogues to all the characters, but with different names set elsewhere? What about a new version of the same story written from an entirely different perspective with all new details? What about an unauthorized sequel that only references the original?
It's not easy to say where the line between idea and expression falls. Moreover, as Mike pointed out, this nuance is lost on a lot of people: the common wisdom seems to be that you can own ideas, as evidenced by the all-too-common refrain "They stole my idea!"
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Indeed, the unauthorized sequel to Catcher in the Rye was found to be an infringing derivative work. In fact, it seems to me the whole doctrine of derivative works (not contained anywhere in statute IIRC) pretty much destroys the idea/expression dichotomy.
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Precisely what I had in mind :) That and The Wind Done Gone.
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Maybe (though I'm not so sure about that) - but in every situation involving a question of derivative/transformative works and fair use, the idea/expression dichotomy is unclear, subjective and difficult to apply. Considering fair use is supposed to be a vital release valve on copyright to prevent it from being unconstitutional, I'd say that's a pretty big problem that needs to be addressed.
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Either way a big thankyou to all who made the vid, thankyou for putting so eloquantly, the feeling that i and i hope a few others, feel about this whole situation
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Kellar
"There was, in the comment thread, a lot of passionate and thoughtful discussion – much of it hostile to the idea of protecting the right of content-makers to be paid for their work"
I read about 50 of the 117 comments, and saw nothing "hostile to the idea of protecting the right of content-makers to be paid for their work". How can he expect to have a real conversation when he refuses to hear what others are saying?
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copying disconnect
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we all need to watch more tv
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This seems appropriate
- Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011)
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The real problem
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patents
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I'm also in favor of humane slavery.
##Thanks, I'll check him out. Indeed, the truth usually is that free market champions just want the most favorable rules. "Free" is not the point.##
##Hi Marc.
I think you're referring to piracy, not remixing. I'm in favor of streamlined copyright, along the lines of its inception. I feel the video communicates this view.
Thanks for the kind words!
_k##
Ref.: www.vimeo.com/36881035
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high school material
And: isn't being copied an honor? Oh well, that kind of thinking will get me nowhere in life :)
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Heh, not anymore you aren't.
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