05 June 2005
Roots of a new tomorrow
I said "Mickey Mouse" in one of my posts. Is that an infringement of copy right? I linked Mickey's name to the Mickey Mouse homepage, and this was not an infringement of copyright. If I cut and past Mickey onto my site then it is a copywrong - and I get in trouble. Mr Potato Head is here too but I made a reference note saying his home is really at Mr Potato Head.com, and he was just popping in for a visit. I am pretty sure this is still an infringement of copyright. I didn't mutate him enough. Now where's my microwave...
Music is another funny one. Some-one makes a song, and no-one can copy it without permission. Does that mean singing the song is illegal too? Is doing a cover illegal? I think not, since there are so many covers bands at pubs. So if reproducing a song with your voice and instruments is legal, then how on earth did some-one get the rights to "Happy Birthday to you?!" According tho the documentary "The Corporation", no-one is freely allowed to use Happy Birthday in their productions because it is copy righted! (And makes about $1million per year in royalties.)
It seems Sal Humphreys (2005) was right to be concerned about "the commodification of traditional or folk cultures, where corporations seek to own creative work previously held collectively by a culture." It is true that this copyright law freezes into categories, that which was once freely flowing amongst people. I personally feel that the tightening of copy right laws really stifles creativity and progress. Especially in this fluid age of information accessability, and exchange.
I am not a deeply political person, but I see that it is obvious that capitalism is the reason that copyright exists. Not just capitalism but greed (under the guise of justice). Every-one wants a fair go, and if other rock stars became millionaires, then the next genreation feels like they are entitled to their fortunes too.
The Modern era of individual gain is drawing to a close, however. Our global sea is getting smaller and the fish are getting bigger and more numerous. All the smaller fish are dying out. We cannot sustain this growth of individual ownership for much longer. We need to redistribute the wealth and encourage sharing of ideas to help the small fish prosper. Increasing the diversity in the sea will surely create a richer environment for every-one.
When Modernism could take its unidirectional road of individual progress no further, along came Postmodernism. Postmodernism started dipping into the past for new inspiration. Today we are in an era of recycling, of materials, of ideas, of music and art. Visually I see a spiral graph of progress, always elevating, yet dipping back to skim the best of what has gone before. Tieing things down under copyright law, so they cannot be revisited or reused not only prevents a communal, sharing mentality, but it also hinders the growth of humanity.
It is a tough system that we find ourselves in, because the changes needed to allow for a communitarian way of life, means a complete overthrow of the existing system. So dramatic would this be that, it might just see the overthrow of the United States as the super power of Earth. (That's why they've been raiding other countries for their own stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.) I mean if people stayed motivated long enough to continue offering free services (like opensource code, music, art, medical services and just help in general), then we would find ourselves in an environment where megacorporations would fail because people would no longer need their services.
Imagine if we could share sustainable power supply by collectively buiding huge wind mills, or solar panels. We could drop out of the power grid. People in Biron and Mullumbimby are doing this all the time. It means progress will be slowed down for a few generations, but if enough people can sacrifice their greed, then it could work.
Like I said before - It is a major change to see this type of communal living overthrow capitalism. The funny thing is that change is becoming more rapid all the time. With the all-pervasive internet unable to be stopped by any authority we may see a revolution sooner than we think. Especially if the creative commons explodes into a thriving community of content providers, then we might just see the first tiny roots of the communalWWW sinking into the earth of a new tomorrow.
Music is another funny one. Some-one makes a song, and no-one can copy it without permission. Does that mean singing the song is illegal too? Is doing a cover illegal? I think not, since there are so many covers bands at pubs. So if reproducing a song with your voice and instruments is legal, then how on earth did some-one get the rights to "Happy Birthday to you?!" According tho the documentary "The Corporation", no-one is freely allowed to use Happy Birthday in their productions because it is copy righted! (And makes about $1million per year in royalties.)
It seems Sal Humphreys (2005) was right to be concerned about "the commodification of traditional or folk cultures, where corporations seek to own creative work previously held collectively by a culture." It is true that this copyright law freezes into categories, that which was once freely flowing amongst people. I personally feel that the tightening of copy right laws really stifles creativity and progress. Especially in this fluid age of information accessability, and exchange.
I am not a deeply political person, but I see that it is obvious that capitalism is the reason that copyright exists. Not just capitalism but greed (under the guise of justice). Every-one wants a fair go, and if other rock stars became millionaires, then the next genreation feels like they are entitled to their fortunes too.
The Modern era of individual gain is drawing to a close, however. Our global sea is getting smaller and the fish are getting bigger and more numerous. All the smaller fish are dying out. We cannot sustain this growth of individual ownership for much longer. We need to redistribute the wealth and encourage sharing of ideas to help the small fish prosper. Increasing the diversity in the sea will surely create a richer environment for every-one.
When Modernism could take its unidirectional road of individual progress no further, along came Postmodernism. Postmodernism started dipping into the past for new inspiration. Today we are in an era of recycling, of materials, of ideas, of music and art. Visually I see a spiral graph of progress, always elevating, yet dipping back to skim the best of what has gone before. Tieing things down under copyright law, so they cannot be revisited or reused not only prevents a communal, sharing mentality, but it also hinders the growth of humanity.
It is a tough system that we find ourselves in, because the changes needed to allow for a communitarian way of life, means a complete overthrow of the existing system. So dramatic would this be that, it might just see the overthrow of the United States as the super power of Earth. (That's why they've been raiding other countries for their own stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.) I mean if people stayed motivated long enough to continue offering free services (like opensource code, music, art, medical services and just help in general), then we would find ourselves in an environment where megacorporations would fail because people would no longer need their services.
Imagine if we could share sustainable power supply by collectively buiding huge wind mills, or solar panels. We could drop out of the power grid. People in Biron and Mullumbimby are doing this all the time. It means progress will be slowed down for a few generations, but if enough people can sacrifice their greed, then it could work.
Like I said before - It is a major change to see this type of communal living overthrow capitalism. The funny thing is that change is becoming more rapid all the time. With the all-pervasive internet unable to be stopped by any authority we may see a revolution sooner than we think. Especially if the creative commons explodes into a thriving community of content providers, then we might just see the first tiny roots of the communalWWW sinking into the earth of a new tomorrow.
