Discussion of all things related to Public Domain

[tom poe <tompoe AT amihost.com>]

OPEN STUDIOS: RUNNING BOARD 

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: 
Each month, we'll highlight a few of the previous month's news articles
(hopefully with active links).  Subscribers and supporters are encouragd
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here.  It's a good way for collecting an archive you can refer to when
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http://www.freepress.net/news/4114
Labels blacklist song-swap companies, block deals 

>From Reuters, July 15, 2004 
By Andy Sullivan 
British download service Wippit Ltd. broke off plans to advertise and
sell music on Grokster last year after officials determined that
Universal Music Group would cut them off. 

"UMI have expressed concern about our relationship with your company and
even though we are providing you with a legitimate service they will not
license music to Wippit if we have any dealings with your company who
they consider 'pirates'," Wippit CEO Paul Myers wrote Grokster in a May
2003 e-mail. 

"If the last names of the CEOs of most major record labels ended in a
vowel they'd be calling this behavior racketeering," said former
Grokster president Wayne Rosso. 
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/07/19/fighting_to_be_free/
Fighting to be free 
Thoreau lover denied bid to give out book at Walden 
By Kathleen Burge, Globe Staff  |  July 19, 2004 

Denise Morrissey, the park supervisor who told Eldred he had to leave,
said her agency discourages competition from outsiders who could take
away business from the two concessions that pay for a spot on the
reservation: an ice cream truck and the gift shop run by the Thoreau
Society. 

"If you're going to give away books for free," she said, "it might take
away business" from the shop. 
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,1268858,00.html
iWar looms as Gates muscles in on music 
Sound system clash for Microsoft and Apple 
David Smith, technology correspondent 
Sunday July 25, 2004 
The Observer 

Some analysts believe the competition could boil down to a scrap for
star names. All the download servers offer thousands of tracks but no
two playlists are quite the same. But Ashley Norris, pub lisher of
tech-digest.com, said: 'Sony has got a much a better choice of tracks. 

The hard launch of the Sony player in September will mean a huge battle
and artists are potentially Sony's trump card. Apple has more but they
include a lot of dodgy country music artists who might be big in
Birmingham, Alabama but not in Birmingham, West Midlands.' 
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http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=69338
Tech News  [07-23-2004] 

Rock Legend Heart Breaks New Ground With Simultaneous Retail And
File-Sharing Release Of 'Jupiters Darling' MusicDish Network Sponsor 
DCIA Members Distribute New Album Via P2P & Outsell iTunes 
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http://news.findlaw.com/ap/ht/1700/7-28-2004/20040728053004_22.html
Wednesday, July 28, 2004 
Some Online Music Providers Allow Sharing 
By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer 

"LOS ANGELES (AP) - Free-for-all music sharing online has drawn the ire
of the recording industry, but some commercial online music providers
and even a few recording artists are opting to allow music fans to share
the songs they've bought." 
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http://news.findlaw.com/ap/ht/1700/7-29-2004/20040729064505_081.html

Thursday, July 29, 2004 
French ISPs to Crack Down on Music Pirates 
By LAURENCE FROST AP Business Writer 

Nevertheless, the charter also calls on music copyright holders to
launch and publicize "targeted civil and criminal" court action against
pirates by the end of the year. 

By agreeing to help in the crackdown on pirates, French Internet
companies hope they can head off the need for tough legislation such as
the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the United States - which
holds service providers financially liable if they don't immediately
remove copyright material posted by their users when requested to do so.
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This on-going series explores potential business strategies and ideas
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FEATURED ARTISTS: 

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COLUMNS: 
A]  Anatoly Volynets - Culture vs. Copyright 
Synopsis of Previous Issues 

One of the basic points I stand for is that culture and copyright 
clash completely. In previous issues we discussed the nature of arts, 
licensing in cultural affairs, arts and personality. 

Culture Beyond Arts 

7 How New Content Emerges 
8 Can Copying Be Creative? 
9 Journalist And Writer: Going In Circles 


7 How New Content Emerges 

Beta. Wait-wait, I've got a very interesting  assumption! A new idea 
equals to the new form in which  to arrange some known things! 

Alpha. Is it not what we were discussing for the last 
half an hour? 

Delta. Five minutes at most... After Gamma gave away 
his last definition. 

Alpha. All right, let it be five minutes! What's Beta's 
discovery, anyway? 

Delta. I am not up to it either... to be frank. Beta, 
can you elaborate? 

Beta. ...I realized that a new idea is totally equal to 
the new form... 

Gamma. Totally? 

Beta. Yes. 

Kappa. OK. This jet... This new idea... It is a new  form... But it is 
not just a "new form"... It is still  the new form in which to arrange 
old things, a rocket  and an aircraft... Can we separate them from 
each  other? I mean the form and those things? 

Teacher. I'm starting to understand Beta's insight. I  would have 
thought that a new idea relates to some new  content rather than a new 
form... I would have...  before, not now. 

Gamma. It is difficult to keep in mind all these  nuances, but in any 
case it becomes clearer. That new  form is the essence of creativity. 

Beta. A new form as a result and as a goal... yes, it 
is the essence, I agree. 

Kappa. Aha! When you arrange old things in a new form 
you get new content! 

Beta. Wow, that resonates! Can we put it this way: you 
get a new content by arranging the old one in a new form? 

Teacher. I say wow too! You guys surprise me! 

Alpha. OK, how does this apply to our third question? 

Kappa. Is it... 

Alpha. That doing arts can be non-creative. 

Delta. It applies very well. If you are not arranging  old things in 
some new form while painting, or singing,  or writing... 

Alpha. New to whom? 

Gamma. We already talked about this already. If it is 
new to you, then you are creating. 

Alpha. But if it is not new for others? 

Beta. Bad luck. Bad for your business... So what? Our 
subject is creativity, not business. 

8 Can Copying Be Creative? 

Alpha. All right, how can copying be creative? 

Beta. Well, let's see... 

Delta. If you see EVERYTHING in a painting, you can 
copy it. 

Alpha. All right, you see everything! How is that  creative? Do you 
arrange old content in a new form here? 

Teacher. I think it is possible. 

Alpha. How? 

Gamma. It is probably like investigation... You have to 
restore all the details in one right picture for yourself. 

Alpha. But this is different with a painting! You 
already see all the details on it! 

Delta. You look on them. It does not mean you see them. 

Alpha. What does it mean, on Earth?! 

Gamma. Look, Alpha, when it comes to investigation,  different people 
see different things, although they  all look at the same crime scene! 

Kappa. Yea... They all look at the same scene, but see  different 
things... Yea... What does this give us? They  arrange things in 
different ways in their own minds!!! 

Beta. Hey! You've got a BIG point! 

Kappa. Wait-wait... What is it? It does not matter what  you are 
looking at. I mean, whatever you are looking at  you have to arrange 
what you see in some form in your  mind... 

Delta. And if this is new for you, then you are  creating! Wow! 

Alpha. Someone got lost here. 

Delta. Who might it be? 

Kappa. Come on, guys. 

Teacher. So, copying can be creative? 

Delta. Looks like it can be even more creative than the 
original work. 

Alpha. O-o-o-ops. 

Gamma. How is that? 

Beta. Say, you arrange things in some new form. This  means you invent 
a new idea, right? Now, say, you try  to understand another person's 
idea, OK? You have to do  the same, right? Plus, you have to make sure 
that the  idea you are creating matches that one you are trying  to 
grasp. So, are you kind of doing two arrangements at once... 

Kappa. Ha! This is why people do not understand each other! 

Gamma. ...So... We have gotten the first answer to the 
last question... 

Teacher. Really? 

Gamma. It can be said now, that creativity in arts is 
of the same nature as creativity in human communication. 

Delta. I cannot believe it. It was so fuzzy in the beginning! 

Alpha. Aha. I would say it has been. 

Delta. Actually, we saw that the same creativity is in  invention, as 
in arts, like with jets. That example  that Gamma gave us was very 
helpful. 

Gamma. I see no difference with investigation either,  by the way. 

Delta. Yea, it is all the same. 

Beta. So, creativity is all the same, whenever we come  across it: in 
arts, in technology, in investigation, in  pure human communication,.. 
everywhere! The only things  which change, are the subject and the 
role of the outcome. 

Teacher. ...And this is always arranging of known 
things in a new form? 

Kappa. I also cannot believe how clear it is now! 

Alpha. OK, you guys have come to the conclusion that  copying is even 
more creative than the original work.  Is that not weird? 

Kappa. ...Hm? It actually is... 

Delta. Why don't we think this over? 

Gamma. Alpha, what do you think? 

Teacher. Gamma, what about you? 

Alpha. This new form, you all are talking about... It  does not exist 
when it gets created for the first time,  but it does, when it gets 
grasped by someone else, not  the creator... 

Delta. It is obvious, but what does "gets grasped" mean? 
We saw it as a creative action too. 

Alpha. As creative as the original creation itself? 

Beta. I don't see how we can measure this. 

Kappa. My dad says it takes sometimes centuries for  humankind to 
understand some new ideas, inventions or  art that some individuals 
came up with. Understanding  is creative! 

Delta. And it is the same about understanding between  people in 
everyday life. It was your example, Kappa, right? 

9 Journalist And Writer: Going In Circles 

Teacher. What if we leave this "measurement problem" for  a while? I 
am eager to hear what do you think about one  of Beta's assumptions. 

Gamma. Which one? 

Teacher. That the only things changing in ever-same  creativity are 
the subject and the real meaning of the outcome. 

Alpha. That is more than one question. 

Teacher. True. 

Alpha. Which one do you want to discuss then? 

Teacher. I am curious about examples of outcomes. 

Beta. What do you mean? 

Teacher. How it works in different areas of human activity. 

Gamma. Like we discussed already investigation, 
invention, photography? 

Teacher. Yes, like those. 

Delta. Do you have something specific in mind? 

Teacher. I am not sure yet. Cannot we collect some 
examples together? 

Beta. What are we looking for? I am not sure either. 

Teacher. All right, what about journalism? 

Gamma. What about it? 

Beta. Actually, the first thing that comes to mind is 
that a journalist does not create facts, does he? 

Kappa. So? 

Alpha. It is like photography. 

Delta. Quick shot, eh? 

Kappa. Oh, God! Won't you ever stop it? 

Alpha. That's all right, I don't care and I don't mind. 

Beta. You don't mind what? 

Alpha. The quick shot is still there. 

Delta. But seriously, Alpha, I fail to see it there. A  journalist 
gets the task to go somewhere and bring back  a story. Say a car 
accident happened... The paper  editor sends some guy to cover the 
story... 

Beta. ...Well, the question stands as usual... One  journalist makes 
up the story that nobody wants to  read, and another one does, so that 
people rip the  paper out of each others' hands to read it! 

Delta. I am not talking about "made up stories!" 

Beta. Actually, I am not either... But whatever the  facts are, you 
have to arrange them in a story!  Different journalists would do this 
differently, right?  It can be terribly boring and it can be 
incredibly  exciting, right? And facts on the ground still would be 
the same, right? 

Delta. ...Yea... 

Kappa. What about the "quick shot?" 

Beta. What about it? 

Kappa. I agree with Alpha that journalism does resemble  photography: 
You have to reflect real things, but you  can do it in different ways. 

Gamma. Could it be only in those cases, when a  journalist does not 
have a specific task and encounters  something extraordinary? 

Beta. But this changes nothing! 

Alpha. What do you mean "nothing?" 

Beta. I don't see how this specific case changes  anything about what 
we understood of creativity itself.  If it is always the arranging of 
known things in a new  form, then all of circumstances mean nothing. 

Kappa. But we are exploring how it works in different 
circumstances now. This, in fact, was the question. 

Beta. ...Agreed. So, what about the journalist and his story? 

Alpha. And his news. 

Gamma. I see no difference between that and fiction writing... 

Alpha. Fiction is the same as news? 

Gamma. Wait, let me finish. I just want to compare the two. 

Kappa. It is interesting. 

Teacher. It is. I am dying to hear. 

Gamma. All right. Obviously, the creativity itself is  the same here. 
Both, the writer and the journalist have  to arrange things in some 
attractive form... 

Alpha. Except the writer makes facts up. 

Delta. Not necessarily. 

Gamma. Yes... you are right... both of you... Let me  finish. They 
both have to create stories to engage  their readers, to make them 
feel involved... 

Kappa. This is right! This is perfectly right! 

Gamma. ...Yea, I know. OK, they make up stories, they  try to engage 
readers... there is no differences so  far. But the real value of 
their stories, the real job  is different. 

Alpha. I didn't get that. It is all the same, it is all 
the same, it is all the same... it is different! 

Gamma. Look, when the journalist engages his readers,  he leads them 
to the facts. The writer engages people  to some general feelings, or 
trends, or ideas... 

Teacher. I believe both things can be involved in both  genres. The 
writer can use real events and names, while  the journalist can talk 
about some general ideas also. 

Beta. But they use those differently! 

Alpha. How? 

Beta. The writer uses real facts to put forth his  general ideas and 
the journalist uses general ideas to  put forth facts! 

Gamma. Maybe... It is necessary for the journalist to  engage public 
into the events happening right away, and  he can use whatever he 
wants to do it. 

Beta. Hm-m. Actually the same thing can happen to the  writer too. He 
can write about the past or the future,  but imply present problems... 

Kappa. Can we say that the journalist is bound to the  present in 
terms of content and writer is not? People  just know that journalist 
is to draw them into  immediate events, this is like a rule of the 
game. I  think Gamma and Beta said the same. 

Gamma. Yes, the writer and the journalist just have 
different goals. 

Teacher. So, despite the fact that they both do  essentially equal 
work, it is judged and valued by the  public on different bases? 

Beta. This is what the public would think. 

Teacher. What do you mean? 

Beta. It is simple. If they both do the same in terms  of art, namely 
engage their readers in the events they  portray, then the public gets 
involved in the same  manner. The public fools itself about the real 
value of  a fictitious story and the real value of one in a newspaper. 

Kappa. They all are fools, ha-ha-ha. But, listen Beta,  you contradict 
yourself. You said a few minutes back  that two stories have different 
relations to reality,  didn't you? 

Alpha. The writer can write about his dreams, what the 
world could be like. The journalist is writing about reality. 

Beta. Yea, Kappa you are right, it is clear that the  goals are 
different, but the real jobs are so similar,  that I go back and 
forth... and am going in circles. 

Gamma. We are all going in circles, but I got a kind of  funny idea 
about journalism. It is impossible to write  about the present. It is 
always about the past, a near  past, but still the past. 

Beta. Physically. But people do perceive it like it is 
happening now... Like it can all be fixed right away. 

Alpha. Come on! Fixed!.. Somebody got killed - go fix that! 

Gamma. It is always a kind of illusion. However, like  Kappa said, it 
is a rule of the game, the journalism  game. A reader should get the 
feeling that action  should be taken, that something can be fixed, 
that  justice must be restored... 

Teacher. All right, so let there be another circle. Is 
it not the same about fiction? 

Alpha. Like in Stargate, ha-ha-ha. 

Gamma. Like in Stargate. The difference is that when  those fictitious 
events substitute real ones and thus,  they stand for general ideas, 
while in a newspaper it  is directly about what it says... All of this 
was  already said today. 

Kappa. Yes, but it is amazing, how differently things  look in the 
beginning of a discussion and after a  while. My first impression was 
that fiction and  newspaper articles have nothing in common. Then you 
start to analyze them. The journalist writes about  current events, 
but the writer can very well write  about these too. The journalist 
wants an action to be  taken and the writer can desire this too. The 
writer  organizes his reality so as to engage the public, the 
journalist does the same. The writer can turn to the  past or future, 
the journalist can do the same to make  his point. The only real 
difference we saw is how the  public perceives their writings. If it 
is fiction, the  public gets involved in fictitious events and feels 
easy about them. If it is news, the public gets  involved in thinking 
about the immediate physical  reality... Well, I am asking myself, if 
this is really  so, and I am in doubt again... 

Teacher. All right. I feel this is enough for today. 
Thank you all. 

To be continued. 

Topics to be covered: Discrepancies between worlds: tangibles and 
intangibles, Economics of Culture and others. 

Anatoly Volynets, Board member of Open Studios, and President of
Total-knowledge.com, will continue his thoughts next month about the
copyright implications on culture.  You can contact Anatoly at: 
av AT total-knowledge.com
*** 
This article licensed under Authoright: 
http://www.culturedialogue.org/ 
*** 
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COMMONS GALLERY BEST OF THE BEST: 
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distribution across the Internet.  If readers discover interesting
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link it here.  Attach your photo with your suggested link, to be added
to the gallery.  Let's spread the word! 

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Licensed as Public Domain with the Creative Commons Project, August 1,
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