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After reading Philip’s (2005) article, I agree with Lawrence Lessig that the current copyright laws are too strict and limit creativity.  I think they need to change to accommodate the accessibility and incredible amount of information or works that the internet provides.  I think a lot of brillant ideas and beautiful works are produced using other people’s concepts.  However, creators still have a right to protect their work if they choose. I think of my husband, who has had pictures of his artwork stolen off the ‘net, reproduced and sold without permission.  I prefer that his artwork be protected the instant it is produced rather than having to pay a lawyer to obtain a copyright as it was before 1989.

It seems like Lessig has found a happy medium for protecting artists yet allowing their works to inspire other productions.  Lessig is one of the founding members of Creative Commons which is an organization that allows artists, writers, photographers, musicians etc. to share their work with others according to the restrictions that they choose to apply. This is a free service that allows the general public to easily reproduce, remix, rip, and burn work that is not their own. Here’s link to a comprehensive video which explains more.

Organizations like Creative Commons give people a way to maintain responsible citizenship online by legally using other’s creations to produce something new .  I think we are far from Liang’s ideal world where law would permit a free for all in terms of accessing other’s content without permission even though it seems common to do.  It is a shame to restrict the infinite possibilities that could be imagined because of universal copyright laws applied to everything the instant it is produced.

http://creativecommons.ca/

Philip (2005). What is a technological author? The pirate function and intellectual property. Postcolonial Studies, 8(2), 199-218.


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