Response to Jonny Hughes Back2Life Blog

Image from Jonny Hughes Blog page.

 Wk1 Reading: Copyright Issues

In Part I of this week's reading, I gained a far better knowledge of what a copyright actually was than I had previously. The Good Copy/Bad Copy documentary was simply awesome! From the stories of the artists known as Girl Talk and Danger Mouse, to the topics of The Pirate Bay and Creative Commons, I think that the overall message here was that regardless of what copyright laws exist around the world, it will not stop people from being inspired by the works of others and from using that inspiration to create their own works. I don't know if it was planned or not, but the ending of the documentary fascinated me, where the artist from Pittsburgh was creating a remix of a remix by a Brazilian producer. It all came together so perfectly, and this scene really drove home the point for me.

In Part II, I loved the Fair Use Fairy Tale! I found it to be a very creative way of explaining a complicated subject. It appeared as though the creator of this video was angry, and it always amazes me that such brilliant works can come from such emotions. As an educator, I sometimes wish that all uses of copyrighted materials in the classroom would be considered Fair Use, but I also try to see the reality of economy and the ability of creativity to yield enough money to support a comfortable life. Also, in Part II, the story of Shepard Fairey and the Obama Hope Poster was just crazy. I had seen this poster so many times, but I never knew the story behind it and the copyright battles that stemmed from this political piece.

Part III was the most enlightening!  Creative Commons is the place to go to see the beginnings of the future of creative licensing in our ever-changing world. The different license types that are available seem to be so simple, that it is a wonder that they have not caught fire in the educational world faster. This is such a perfect resource that all teachers should be aware of and teaching to their students. In his TED Talk, Larry Lessig made some very clear points, but the one that I really enjoyed hearing out loud was his closing message about how kids are different today because of technology, and that society has created a culture of corruption because everyday people are living against the law. Our country and many other democracies around the world are in desperate needs of makeovers, and I believe that the time for this to happen is not far around the corner.


My Response: Jon- I also enjoyed the bold use of Disney Animation by the Fair Use Fairy Tale filmmakers. Disney is one of the most strident enforcers of copyright law for it's products. I agree that creative commons is a good source for those that wish to share and have often used images I found there. I know that many artists would also like to share, as Lessig suggestion as a solution. My only concern is that corporations hold the rights to artists works and they are not as likely to be so generous. Corporations weld a significant amount of power. I am interested to see how things are resolve.