An Open Letter About Copyright
This has been said over and over again, but I feel like it needs to be restated. Especially because today, I found a prime example of this rant in action.
Before the days of the internet, there was no way to prevent the theft of intellectual properties. If someone came up with an idea or created something, there was no way to prevent someone else from claiming it as their idea. First came the patent system, that specifically safeguarded inventions and ideas. However, it didn't quite cover all of the bases. That is when copyright was invented; and for a while, it was good.
Then came the internet.
The internet was the first time, in a long time, where thought and action was unmoderated. With the ability to digitally distribute media, nobody cared where something came from. Ideas were freely enjoyed, and for a time, things were good. However, when word got to people who did NOT inhabit the internet that such carefree sharing of ideas was taking place, they were appalled, and attempted to bring the hammer of copyright down onto this new exchange of media. Suddenly, what was once free was now illegal, and a prohibition of creativity spread it's way across the web. Many people who were once praised for their smuggling of copyrighted content into a digital format were now hunted as criminals, and in retaliation, went underground and redoubled their efforts, lest their voice be stifled.
However, some found another way.
Completely avoiding the old ways of copyright, people decided to release new ideas freely across the net. No longer did anyone have to fear that they would be starved of free media... fellow internet citizens made sure of that. Instead of relying on corporations and bureaucracies to safeguard their intellectual properties, they instead bit the bullet and allowed people to do with their ideas and creations as they saw fit, hoping that the honor system would prevent people from claiming someone else's work as their own. And while idea theft DID happen, it was relatively uncommon, and those that practiced it were immediately pointed out and shunned by their peers.
Out of this new way of thinking came a second renaissance. Someone could create something, it could be improved on by multiple people, and everyone could share the credit for creating something brand new that was larger than the sum of it's parts. See today's example:
Earlier today, someone on a Devil May Cry forum I frequent posted a remix of a song he created. It was a mix of the song Motor Head from the video game BlazBlue, with Move Bitch by Ludacris. The idea was solid, while the execution was not. I asked for the lyrics from the Ludacris song, and I decided to try to mix it. What resulted was this:
It wasn't the full song, however, I feel it improved the original quite a bit (I would love to post the original, but he has since taken it down).
I did not claim that the idea to mix both songs was my own. I gave the original creator full credit, but went ahead and made the new mix myself anyway. If this were the "real world", I could have very likely been slapped with several lawsuits... one for the Ludacris song, one for the BlazBlue song, and again by the guy who originally mixed both songs together in the first place.
That did not happen.
Instead, he took my idea and ran with it. He made some modifications here and there, and what resulted was a finished product that was FAR better than what either of us alone could have produced.
--------------------------------------------
We live on the precipice of a new paradigm. A new way of thinking, where the old laws of "THIS IS MINE, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BECAUSE IT'S MINE" no longer apply. Creativity, teamwork, cooperation, community... these things can thrive, and inspire the world.
Before the days of the internet, there was no way to prevent the theft of intellectual properties. If someone came up with an idea or created something, there was no way to prevent someone else from claiming it as their idea. First came the patent system, that specifically safeguarded inventions and ideas. However, it didn't quite cover all of the bases. That is when copyright was invented; and for a while, it was good.
Then came the internet.
The internet was the first time, in a long time, where thought and action was unmoderated. With the ability to digitally distribute media, nobody cared where something came from. Ideas were freely enjoyed, and for a time, things were good. However, when word got to people who did NOT inhabit the internet that such carefree sharing of ideas was taking place, they were appalled, and attempted to bring the hammer of copyright down onto this new exchange of media. Suddenly, what was once free was now illegal, and a prohibition of creativity spread it's way across the web. Many people who were once praised for their smuggling of copyrighted content into a digital format were now hunted as criminals, and in retaliation, went underground and redoubled their efforts, lest their voice be stifled.
However, some found another way.
Completely avoiding the old ways of copyright, people decided to release new ideas freely across the net. No longer did anyone have to fear that they would be starved of free media... fellow internet citizens made sure of that. Instead of relying on corporations and bureaucracies to safeguard their intellectual properties, they instead bit the bullet and allowed people to do with their ideas and creations as they saw fit, hoping that the honor system would prevent people from claiming someone else's work as their own. And while idea theft DID happen, it was relatively uncommon, and those that practiced it were immediately pointed out and shunned by their peers.
Out of this new way of thinking came a second renaissance. Someone could create something, it could be improved on by multiple people, and everyone could share the credit for creating something brand new that was larger than the sum of it's parts. See today's example:
Earlier today, someone on a Devil May Cry forum I frequent posted a remix of a song he created. It was a mix of the song Motor Head from the video game BlazBlue, with Move Bitch by Ludacris. The idea was solid, while the execution was not. I asked for the lyrics from the Ludacris song, and I decided to try to mix it. What resulted was this:
Click to viewIt wasn't the full song, however, I feel it improved the original quite a bit (I would love to post the original, but he has since taken it down).
I did not claim that the idea to mix both songs was my own. I gave the original creator full credit, but went ahead and made the new mix myself anyway. If this were the "real world", I could have very likely been slapped with several lawsuits... one for the Ludacris song, one for the BlazBlue song, and again by the guy who originally mixed both songs together in the first place.
That did not happen.
Instead, he took my idea and ran with it. He made some modifications here and there, and what resulted was a finished product that was FAR better than what either of us alone could have produced.
--------------------------------------------
We live on the precipice of a new paradigm. A new way of thinking, where the old laws of "THIS IS MINE, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BECAUSE IT'S MINE" no longer apply. Creativity, teamwork, cooperation, community... these things can thrive, and inspire the world.