Discussion of all things related to Public Domain

[tom poe <tompoe AT amihost.com>]

OPEN STUDIOS: RUNNING BOARD 

- - - 
"Who Ate My Cheese?" - - - A must-read for the White House, and our
President, who suffers from "Work Smarter" deficiency" -  courtesy of
Dave, over at the FoRK mailing list. 
- - - 
Open Studios continues its registration process with states throughout
the country.  As a nonprofit organization, we seek donations and
contributions from the public.  Many states therefore, require that we
register with them.  Some five states permit registration without fees,
or don't require registration at all at this point.  The rest,
apparently, require fees of $10, $15, up to $80 USD or more.  We view
this process as an important and necessary, if not onerous, burden.  Can
you help?  The full story is at:
http://www.ibiblio.org/studioforrecording/statereg.html .  We call it
our SPONSOR A STATE PROJECT. 
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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
to email us with links you found to be interesting.  We'll add them
here.  It's a good way for collecting an archive you can refer to when
you need it as part of your Internet business strategies. 
- - - 
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Business/2004/09/04/615426.html
Pay music services have limits 
David Canton, Freelance writer   2004-09-04 04:17:32 
The London Free Press 

"Consumers may not be getting what they think when they pay to download
music. " 
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Posted September 3, 2004 @ 6:17 PM 
by Ken "Caesar" Fisher 

Surely, one might think, that this year is an exception, but for BMI,
they've seen a 9% average growth every year for the last 10 years. 
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http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=243
Disney loses song challenge 
>From correspondents in Johannesburg 
08sep04, this story is from our news.com.au network 
US entertainment giant Walt Disney today lost its court bid to set aside
a lawsuit filed by a local Zulu family in South Africa for royalties
from the hit song The Lion Sleeps Tonight. 

The family of the late Solomon Linda, who composed the original Zulu
tune for the song, is claiming 10 million rand (about $2.17 million) in
damages from Disney. 
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http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5349272.html
MyTunes returns for iTunes song sharing 
Published: September 7, 2004, 1:20 PM PDT 
By John Borland 
Staff Writer, CNET News.com 

Tools that turn Apple Computers' iTunes software into the core of a
song-sharing network are multiplying, with the re-release this week of
the previously defunct MyTunes. 

Like OurTunes and a handful of other software programs, "MyTunes Redux"
enables computer users to download songs freely from the hard drives of
other iTunes users, as long as the two machines are on the same local
network. 
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http://news.lp.findlaw.com/entertainment/s/20040910/musicsamplesdc.html
Friday, Sept. 10, 2004 
Court Ruling Could Chill Sample Use 
By Susan Butler 

NEW YORK (Billboard) - A surprising new court ruling could have a
profound impact on the use of samples in hip-hop and other recordings. 
In a decision that some industry lawyers view as contrary to the law,
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Nashville created
what it called a "new rule" in copyright law Sept. 7. 

The court held that a mere two-second, unauthorized sample of a guitar
solo from Funkadelic's "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" is enough to
constitute copyright infringement of the recording. 

But it's not only about the money. Many hip-hop producers are not like
traditional record producers who work in a studio and know how to mic-up
the instruments and vocals, producer Hi-Tek says. Instead, these hip-hop
producers only know their own equipment and work in a small space. They
rely on samples. 
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http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=257
This Compilation CD Is Meant 
To Be Copied and Shared 

By ETHAN SMITH 
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 
September 20, 2004; Page B1 

Wired's editors spent months shuttling to New York and Los Angeles,
working to convince artists, their managers, record labels and lawyers
that it was in all their interests to give away some of the valuable
intellectual property that the industry has argued for years it must
keep under lock and key. In the end, the magazine approached 50 to 60
acts, including Jay-Z, Moby and Coldplay, to find 16 participants. The
musicians who participated contributed their efforts, as a promotional
gambit. 
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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/28/dell_does_recycling/
Dell jumps on UK recycling bandwagon 
By Startups.co.uk 
Published Tuesday 28th September 2004 17:02 GMT 

Dell UK is helping business to recycle their IT equipment. The service
is a response to the new Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE) legislation, which is to be introduced in 2005. 
- - - 
THE COMMUNITY SCENE: 
Open Studios works with communities around the country and around the
world to build and operate community-based recording studios.  You can
keep up with the latest happenings by checking this section each month. 
Learn what others are doing, and get ideas for your community. 

Did you know that in the future, grandparents will have refrigerators
with computers on the side, the monitor stylishly displaying files from
the Internet?  Imagine the grandparents, each morning, walking over to
their refrigerator, loading up the day's drawing made by one of their
grandchildren?  Nice, eh? 

NO ENTRY THIS MONTH 
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HOW THEY DO IT: 
This on-going series explores potential business strategies and ideas
for musicians, artists, and authors interested in pursuing careers
outside mainstream industry practices. 

NO ENTRY THIS MONTH 

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FEATURED ARTISTS: 

NO ENTRY THIS MONTH 
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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. 

Some Discrepancies Between Two Worlds 

1 Preliminary Ideas 
    1.1 Real Things Exchange Hands when Traded - Cultural Phenomena Do
Not 
    1.2 Real Things Depreciate while Being Used - Cultural Phenomena
Appreciate 
    1.3 Physical Use Destroys Physical Things While Cultural Use adds
Value to Them 
    1.4 Physical Need is signaled by Body and Dies out of Satisfaction -
Cultural Need Behaves Oppositely 
    1.5 Differences in Relationship between Different Physical Things
and Cultural Phenomena 
2 Students Got Involved 
    2.1 Books-People-Meals 
    2.2 The Recipe Case 

1 Preliminary Ideas 

One crucial and decisive point about copyright related issues is that
worlds of culture and civilization are two different ones. They develop
under different laws, although they relate to and depend on each other.
Many people realize that the difference exists. This is also reflected
in the Constitution of the United States of America: ownership of real
property (belonging to the world of civilization) is considered one of
the basic rights and is unalienable from its owner and his heirs 
forever. However, exclusive rights to "writings and discoveries" 
(belonging to the world of culture) *can* be granted under certain
conditions for limited time. What are these conditions? These exclusive
rights have "to promote the progress of science and useful arts". 

So the two worlds are different. The question is, how different are
they? Or better yet, how are they different? The next question will be
how exactly the above mentioned exclusive rights reflect the differences
between the two worlds? The following one obviously will be how well
these rights serve the announced purpose? How effectively do they
promote the progress of science and arts (let us skip the "usefulness" 
of the arts here), if they really do? 

I have formulated a few points of difference between "things" belonging
to different worlds. 

1.1 Real Things Exchange Hands when Traded - Cultural Phenomena Do Not 

Let us even say more exactly: physical things change hands while shared,
but cultural phenomena can be copied. In other words, cultural phenomena
can be shared as well, but not change hands. One does not lose it when
one shares it with others. 

It is interesting and extremely important that idea reflecting value of
a physical thing must be shared by both parties in exchange. In other
words, trading of physical things or actions without sharing of ideas is
either impossible, or meaningless. 

1.2 Real Things Depreciate while Being Used - Cultural Phenomena
Appreciate 

Let us take tools for example. They gradually lose their physical
abilities, while being used and thus lose their value. To the contrary,
cultural phenomena derive their value directly from being "used", which 
means being shared, communicated, known. Cultural phenomena gains value
with each single usage. 

It is interesting to juxtapose two "usages" in the case of a tool. The
ideas corresponding to a tool appreciate in many ways while the tool
itself depreciates from use: 

1. The sense of usefulness of the tool is growing 

2. Mastership of the "user" is growing 

3. Special techniques of using the depreciated tool develop 

4. Sooner or later it comes to invention of a new tool to do the same
job better ... to name just a few 

Even more interesting things happen when a new tool is invented. This
means that the same idea makes a considerable leap in its development
and by doing so dramatically decreases the value of the old tool. 

1.3 Physical Use Destroys Physical Things While Cultural Use Ads Value
to Them 

An artifact, say a building, depreciates because of a physical use (we
are not talking about restoration work, which is controversial in this
respect), but becomes more valuable when it gets included in
communication between people, becomes known for its uniqueness. Another
example - old cars, or any other collectibles. It is interesting that
cultural use, while bringing value to an artifact, may imply the 
deprivation of physical use. 

1.4 Physical Need is signaled by Body and Dies out of Satisfaction -
Cultural Need Behaves Oppositely 

When your body feels a physical need, it is signaling you. After the
body is satisfied, you normally do not feel the need any more. When it
comes to a cultural phenomenon, the more you communicate with it, the
more you need it. And vise versa: the less culturally developed a person
is, the less one needs access to culture. Nothing would signal a person
that he/she needs to read a book, to listen to music or to look at 
a painting. The need for Culture increases with "satisfaction."
Moreover, cultural desires can cause physical sacrifices and vise versa:
physical need can cause giving up cultural ones. Cultural desire can
require to control bodily driven desires, limit , redirect, suppress,
twist, or inspire them. 

1.5 Differences in Relationship between Different Physical Things and
Cultural Phenomena 

First of all it is interesting to distinguish between physical things
that have their own value and pure media that actually have no value of
their own, but derive their value from bearing cultural phenomena 
(books, musical records, et cetera). I would define the issue as "value
dynamics in consumer goods vs. tools vs. media vs. artifacts." Let us
define these categories first. 

* Consumer goods mean things to be consumed and thus disappear, lose
their form while activate their value. The most typical representative
of this group is food. People, while using them, are consumers. 

* Tools are supposed to be used in their current form, namely to produce
(fix, upgrade, destroy, preserve, etc.) other things. They gradually
depreciate while being used and normally turn into nothing (in terms 
of their initial function, at least) in the end. People, while use
tools, fit the notion of customer. 

* Media are things that do not have intended value as physical ones, but
get value exclusively from inscribed cultural phenomena. These are to be
used until they physically depreciate, while inscribed cultural
phenomena normally appreciate. People, while "using" them, are an
audience. 

2 Students Got Involved 

2.1 Books-People-Meals 

The above were my first thoughts, which I wanted discuss. Hence, I took
the issue to my students, third graders already. When I finished my
short speech I faced real a curiosity. It did not take long to get the 
first question. 

Alpha. Why is that "cultural satisfaction" increases desire? When you
come to watch a movie, you get satisfied and return home, or go to
restaurant, or just walk and talk. 

Beta. I agree, you do not watch, and watch, and watch... 

Kappa. Some people do. 

Beta. Yea, some do. I would not call them people of culture, what do you
think? 

Teacher. Confused. 

Gamma. Why? I understand that if you never watched movies, you wouldn't
know whether you need it, or not. You probably wouldn't know this even
after watching a few movies. However, if you don't eat for a while, your
body starts to bother you and it is doing so until you feed it. 

Delta. By the way, if you are getting more hungry, you become less
selective. 

Alpha. So? 

Delta. Let's see.. 

Alpha. What? You don't know why you said that? 

Delta. ...True. 

Kappa. What kind of difference does it make? It makes sense. If you like
certain music, say classical, you will not listen to something
completely different, say rap, even if you have not had access to any
music for a long time. 

Beta. This is kind of obvious. Music, or books, or paintings... they are
all like people. The more you communicate with them, the more selective
you become, value some and are disgusted by others... 

Alpha. Isn't it the same about meals? 

Beta. Do you value one more and more, or hate another more and more? 

Kappa. I would say the opposite. You may like eating something for a
while and suddenly get sick of it. 

Alpha. Don't you change your preferences in arts? 

Kappa. Hmm. 

Delta. Interesting... Listen, food companies try to bring new products
on the market pretty often. While entertainment companies keep some kind
of stereotypes as long as they can. 

Gamma. What do you mean, movies? But they do not show you one movie for
a long time, right? 

Delta. One movie? No. But the same stereotypes you recognise all along. 

Kappa. And this is boring. Boring entertainment, ha-ha-ha. 

Alpha. Someone said a while ago that you can read the same book over and
over again. Isn't it boring? 

Gamma. Sure,.. if the book is boring. 

Alpha. And if it is not? 

Gamma. Then, yes, I can read it over and over again. 

Alpha. I will not. 

Kappa. I will. 

Alpha. Baloney! 

Beta. Why is it baloney? Because you do not understand it? 

Alpha. Because you make it up. People do not do this! 

Teacher. Some people definitely do. I do. 

Kappa. People read the Bible over and over again. 

Alpha. Some people do, because they are obliged to. It is their
religion. 

Teacher. And you are sure this does not make any sense beyond the
obligation? 

Gamma. It always does. It is like meeting old friends. 

Alpha. Ah, like in a stupid TV series! 

Kappa. Well, I suspect, not all of your friends are brilliant, but you
may still like them. Don't you think? 

Beta. Can one like a boring person, generally speaking? 

Gamma. Say, parents are boring. Someone can have boring parents. But
they still can be parental, kind, lovely guys... 

Alpha. I bet their kids do not take every single chance to visit the old
folks. 

Kappa. Probably, but this is not normal. 

Alpha. Why? 

Kappa. You can't measure people like things! This one's useful, this
one's not! 

Alpha. Who was talking about usefulness? 

Beta. You're talking about boredom, it is close. 

Alpha. Really? 

Gamma. You can love a boring person, or a dishonest one, or a criminal,
or someone helpless, or stupid, or plain a jerk, or whatever negative
character trait you can only imagine. I read all kind of stories like
this. 

Alpha. Ah, it is fiction! I got it. 

Delta. Do you think, if it's in fiction, it has nothing to do with
reality? 

Alpha. It probably has something to do with reality, but you never know
what. Anyway, you cannot base a serious judgement on fiction. What do
you think? 

Delta. All right. Let's look at it at another angle: are all of your
loved ones perfect people? 

Kappa. It is not matter of perfection at all. You don't choose friends
on these grounds... I mean, whoever you choose to make friends with, is
perfect for you, this is it... I don't know what that means, really. 

Beta. It is the same about books, music, movies... 

Alpha. ...Meals, houses, cars, tools, parks, lakes, mountains, forests,
barber shops, shopping malls... 

Teacher. It is an impressive list. 

Delta. But those things are different. 

Alpha. What do you mean? 

Delta. As it was said already, if you are hungry and cannot get your
favorite meal you will eat anything else. Now, if you need a ride and
your favorite car is not available, you drive another one. If your
favorite park is closed you can go to another one. But if your 
friend is sick, unconscious, you will not go visit someone else, you go
visit your friend. If you cannot find your favorite book when you want
it, you will not sit and read whatever gets in your way. If you want to 
watch a certain movie and it is not possible for some reason, you will
hardly agree to watch another one... Say, if you like comedies, you will
not watch triller under any circumstances. I said, it is different. You 
would understand... 

Kappa. Hey-hey, let's do not go there. 

Delta. All right, let us not. 

2.2 The Recipe Case 

Kappa. We all got carried away and got distracted from the initial
question. The important thing is that when you share your meal, a part
of it gone. You can even leave hungry... However if you share the recipe
for that meal, you lose nothing... Actually, yes, the recipe becomes
more known and thus it becomes more valuable... you are gaining
something. 

Alpha. One can say so. 

Kappa. One can say so, and one will be right. And this is important for
our conversation, because this is how a meal and its recipe drastically
differ. The meal gets consumed and disappears, the recipe gains value
every time it is shared. It gains even more value every time someone
cooks and eats that meal. 

Alpha. OK, why would they say that it is stealing? 

Beta. What? 

Alpha. Say you don't want to share the recipe, and someone learns it,
and makes use of it - it is stealing. 

Beta. I wonder, why? I don't understand it. I am perfectly comfortable
with the notion that sharing of a recipe adds value to it. Should adding
value be called stealing under any circumstances? 

Alpha. Suppose I know a unique recipe. Suppose I built a business upon
it. Then you come, and learn the recipe somehow, and start a similar
business. You will get the money that I was supposed to get. Isn't that
stealing? 

Delta. Oh, yes. Beta opens another restaurant and makes you more known.
He actually advertises for you, but you put no penny in this. Why don't
we consider this stealing? 

Alpha. Hasn't he been advertised by my efforts as well? 

Gamma. Yes, but this is not quite the same. He has to tell who he
learned it from. You will always be the person who introduced the
recipe. This pays; you can always charge more than others in the same
business. 

Alpha. Ah, and he will charge less and steal my customers! 

Beta. Are you listening? It is not me who charges less, it is you who
charges more! 

Alpha. Does anyone see the difference here? 

Beta. Of course, there is no logical difference! There is no need to
argue about labels and metaphors either! Just follow the money you are
getting! If I make a product or service that is based on your recipe
more known, I serve you! Moreover, if I make you more known as the
introducer of that wonderful product or service, I advertise you and
your business! You get more customers that are willing to pay more! And
you call this stealing? 

Alpha. But you get money also! Isn't that mine? 

Beta. I do business, but the money is yours? 

Alpha. Of course! The idea is mine, thus money derived from this idea
belongs to me! 

Gamma. You can share it. A portion of it will be attributed to the idea,
called royalties, and all that remains belongs to the business. 

Alpha. That's what I meant. 

Beta. How about those revenues derived by Alpha from my work? He clearly
gets them. Shouldn't he share? 

Delta. How on the Earth can we measure all these mutual dependencies? 

Gamma. Listen - listen! I got another question! 

Alpha. Hold it! I need to argue what Beta said! 

To be continued. 

Topics to be covered: 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/ 
*** 
Literary editing by Alexandra Volynets 
*** 
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COMMONS GALLERY BEST OF THE BEST: 
The Creative Commons Project offers musicians, artists, and authors a
nifty way to meet their legal needs for licensing their works for
distribution across the Internet.  If readers discover interesting
material that sports the Creative Commons tag, let us know, and we'll
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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Remember when cars sported running boards out of practical necessity? 
Most roads back then weren't paved like our roads, today. 

The Digital Age, still in its' infancy, requires the use of electronic
running boards.  People are out there that have never used a computer. 
Most people don't understand how computers work [I just raised my hand],
let alone how to make CD's, DVD's, MP3's, OGG, WAV, and the list goes
on. 

And, in the arts and sciences, from musicians to artists to authors, the
knowledge that recordings no longer requires an expensive recording
studio is restricted to just a few.  This newsletter intends to help
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Licensed as Public Domain with the Creative Commons Project, August 1,
2003. 
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