What does copyright mean to you?
Do you think copyright locks creativity away from the public?
What are your thoughts on Creative Commons licences?
I believe the similarities between Avatar and Pocahontas made it through without breaching copyright because, they are similar but not the same. As stated in the YouTube video A fair(y) use tale by dangerousnerd (2007) you cannot copyright an idea – but you can copyright the form it takes. Therefore there can be a million movies made that follow a similar storyline, just as long as the visuals are different and the dialog is rewritten.
I also think there is a vast difference between piracy and remix / mashups etc. Copyright to me is a necessity, as it should protect creatives and businesses from their works being illegally copied and mass distributed for financial gain to someone who does not own it. Remix / mashups and memes etc to me are different though, as they are often produced for fun, or by fans to connect with the media texts that they connect with and have become a part of their lives. Furthermore we now have the tools, readily and easily available to use that allow us to easily remix the works of others and I believe there is a great deal of creativity that is lost if we cannot do this. Copyright laws as they stand today judge creative types that dabble in remix and those that commit mass producing piracy as the same, and I don’t think that is fair.
I agree the idea tjat Creative commons licenses are a “convenient and great way to share content with others” (Burgon, 2012) but as they are voluntary, I doubt they will inspire the likes of Disney to freely release their content for reuse while the current laws work so well in their financial favor. They are only good for those of us who like to share.
Burgon, A.(2012). Official Thread: The Right to Copy. Retrieved from http://lms.curtin.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_4_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_40430_1%26url%3D
dangerousnerd.(2007). A Fair(y) Use Tale. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UycH2HvBRd4
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