Reading about the true intent behind copyright proved very insightful. Alongside the majority of people (probably like 98% of individuals), I had always assumed it had to do with protecting the creator’s works from being stolen. Like the Open Spaces magazine article had mentioned, the impression that has been accepted in our society is this. One hears about so-and-so who illegally downloaded Adobe Creative Suite and got sued or has seen the FBI warning labels with large fines coupled with potential jail time and assumes that it has more to do with copying/illegally using or distributing than giving the creator exclusive rights to their own content in hopes that this promotes more learning in the long run. It seems like we’ve lost sight of the real reason for having copyright laws and the message behind it. The idea that a piece cannot be considered public domain until 70 years AFTER the death of the author seems absurd! I applaud Nine Inch Nails for taking on the creative commons license with their Ghosts I-IV album. They (hopefully) have reminded musicians that art should be publicly shared and maybe their songs can be the foundation for another’s creative genius.
In the past, the saying “knowledge is power” really does ring true. This is especially the case when England’s government owned all the presses and oversaw the printed content. The fact that we now live in a society where knowledge can be easily obtainable and free is a huge step forward, but the copyright laws still seem archaic.
This is where creative commons is seeking to help solve the downside to copyrighting or at least aid in making pieces free for the public. I find it somewhat ironic that one still needs a license in order to make creations free. Nonetheless, it is on the right track.
Before this class, I had read about fair use on other blogs. The rules of fair use always seemed unclear and is partially why I haven’t pursued blogs seriously. Too much work figuring out whether or not I can use fair use on something! Most blogs I see online are infringing on some type of copyright (or so it seems) and while some of them ignore citing the proper source, others do mention where the media originated from. Simply citing though, does not necessarily mean it is a free pass to post their work.
The ultimate goal in all of this is to promote creativity in our society and stimulate knowledge. Interestingly enough, copyrighting comes off as anything but this. Money is the key word in a lot of this. Our society is driven on tangibles as we have discussed in class. The fact that there is FREE knowledge that can be found instantly (when scarcity has been our traditional method) is turning our economic model on its head. America has always been about freedom of speech and copyright is creeping into censorship territory unless you are willing to pay of course and jump through hoops to get permission. There is a clash of ideals here.
What do you think will motivate other artists to use a creative commons license when so many are used to copyrighting in the past?
Why do you think the rules on fair use are ill-defined?
I think that over time technology has changed our intake of information so largely that we have lost sight of the true use and meaning of copyright laws. It is important to adapt the laws ofr use among many others as our technology advances, so that the two can work with eachother rather than against eachother.
Knowledge truly is power, and with technological advances knowledge is being spread quicker and farhter than ever before allowing us to absorb information and grom mentally at rapid rates. At this point though we are running into the problems that Creative Commons is attempting to address of how we can keep the knowledge spreading yet maintain and protect the illustrators. In all honesty I have also shyed away from blogs and other uses of information simply because I have not known how to cite it correctly in the past and was not up to speed on fair use laws and simply did not have the time or energy to learn all of the ins and outs. Hopefully as a future goal in our society we can make it easier to protect information while still being able to educate ourselves by absorbing the information of others.
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Citing sources in blogs? Tell me this several years ago and I would have looked at you in disbelief. I can’t remember there ever being a lesson in school that goes into depth about copyrights. It seems as though it’s something that just isn’t taught in school at all, with the exception of plagiarism, and we all remember that. I guess what I’m attempting to say is with all the advances we have in modern technology and our societies desire to share and remix things we take for granted, schools need to provide the necessary education about copyrights and other licensing.This way, when people get older they will know how to properly cite sources, as well as not infringe on copyrights and get sued.
Hi, Meme – you don’t actually need to have license, but you have to make a statement about ownership because copyright happens upon creation. Creative Commons makes it easy to pick something in-between “I own it all” and “I’ll let anyone do anything they want to with my content.”