Over the course of this blog I've discussed creativity; being creative, creation, how it influences others, and I've also touched on piracy; what it is exactly and the issues that surround it. I'd now like to shed some light on the topic that I think ties creativity and piracy together. Intellectual Property.
Intellectual Property is one of those phrases where you're almost 100% sure you understand exactly what it means, but you're unable to put it into words the right way, so you're not sure if you're really understanding it. I'm going to clarify so don't fret. Basically, intellectual property (IP) is anything you think up. If I were to make up a song about leaves or forks, no matter how dumb it is, that song is mine because I made it up. That's a very basic example and in reality, IP stretches over everything that can be thought of and according to Wikipedia that encompasses "intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs." That includes works on the internet as well. Any logo on an ad that pops up while you're searching google or on Facebook. Videos and clips on youtube ranging from music to vlogs. IP includes it all, which when you think about how large the internet is and everything that is available for your viewing pleasure, it can be somewhat overwhelming.
Now, its time to connect the dots. IP is, in my opinion, the brainchild of creativity. (no pun intended) Every blog we read, every picture we look at on flickr, all the songs on itunes are all there because of a series of collective innovations that someone thought of and then created. I'm not just referring to the works we consume. The websites are the IP of the computer engineers that coded for them and iTunes itself is the IP of Apple. IP is everything we consume and touch. What then keeps IP from being stolen and us, as the consumers who enjoy the brilliance of others, from getting in trouble for having it? That is where copy right law, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets come in. These guidelines/laws are all put into place to not only protect the vast array of IP of people, but also as sort of a filter for those that may be trying to duplicate something that has already been made and pass it off as their own. These thieves are also called pirates. So we've come full circle. Creativity leads to IP, which is protected by copy rights and patents from pirates and piracy.
with all that being said, I'll leave you with this, In our world of the internet and constant updates and new products like the new iPhone 4s, where do we draw the line on whether something is completely new or just a better version of what we've had before and how do we label each as such?
No comments:
Post a Comment