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 * The use of digital data covered by Copyright in a multimedia production reflects a lack of creativity and is against the law in all circumstances. Discuss **


 * These days it is common to find digital data that includes multiple sources for a finished product. People have many different opinions on whether this shows a lack of creativity and originality, but it is hard to find a work that hasn’t borrowed ideas and concepts from another work. As soon as a work is created, it is under Copyright law. **


 * Copyright is a form of legal protection **of peoples work. It allows the creators to stop people re-producing or re-distributing their work without permission. If something is copyrighted, permission must be obtained to use it. Even though it is illegal in most circumstances, millions of people around the world do not bother to obtain permission, because they believe it takes too much time and effort.

Copyright laws differ around the world, and as such there is no real consistency in their application or their policing. For example, in America you are allowed to make a personal copy of any digital media. However, in some countries, you are not allowed copies of any music, as you must obtain the original or a legal copy. I believe this is unworkable in the current era of internet downloads, mp3 players and other mass storage devices.

Copyright protects all forms of digital data including written works, visual images, music and moving images and most work is automatically protected as soon as it is created. It is important to copyright material as this gives people the chance to earn a living from their works. It also gives control to creators and allows them to decide who can and can’t use their work. Sometimes creators allow others to ‘sample’ their work, allowing others to have permission to use a small snippet of it.

Since creators give permission to sample music, it is not illegal to use it. Also, if permission is obtained to use the work, then it is legal. These days, many rap songs and music videos include small snippets of other songs, for example, the song Stan by Eminem features a song by the artist Dido in the background. I believe this song, even though featuring another song still has a powerful meaning and is a great song.

Some would argue that using other people’s work shows a lack of creativity and originality because someone else has already created the work for them. They may also argue that the original creator is not always noted for the work they produced, but instead the new creator claims their work as their own. For example the song Young Forever by Jay Z has the backing track of the song Forever Young by Youth Group, but Youth Group are never mentioned as the original producers of the track. Even when the original artists are acknowledged, they do not always receive monetary recognition.

On the other hand, people believe that no original creation is truly original. Most television shows these days are modern versions of shows from the 60’s and 70’s, or re-worked concepts from radio. These shows which were once extremely popular have been modernized for today’s generations and younger generations are now appreciating the “Golden Oldies”. Also, when an artist reproduces someone else’s work, it can open recognition for the original artist. For example, Microsoft is not an original concept, in fact Bill Gates purchased the operating system DOS that was developed for IBM.

An example of where copyright material was used in a creative way can be seen in Andy Warhol’s painting of Campbell’s tins. There is no evidence that he asked to use the labels, however Campbell’s (the copyright owner of the label) seems to have benefitted from this free exposure, and the creative way that Warhol used them enhanced his reputation within the art world.

If using others work shows a lack of creativity, then why are there so many remixed CDs around, and why are they so popular? Also, why are there new movies coming out based on television shows and comics. Even though this is not a direct breach of copyright, it is similar in the concept of enforcing copyright. Get Smart, Batman, Star Trek, The Price is Right, Bewitched and many others are all reproductions of original works and concepts, yet are still very popular today.

In my opinion, I can appreciate the need to protect people’s works and revenue, however new ideas can come from old ideas, and this does not reflect a lack of creativity. Without some latitude in copyright, could we not stall all creativity? New works would be created all the time, and older works will be forgotten easily.

The use of bringing together different concepts and works can even enhance creativity all together. For example, in the song We didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel, he uses many copyrighted words and phrases to put together a pop history of American Society, eg. Peter Pan (a book, a play, a movie) Disneyland (a theme park), Ben-Hur (a movie), Lawrence of Arabia (movie and book). I wouldn’t say this song has shown a lack of thought or creativity.

Many people have different views on the debate of whether copying someone else’s work shows a lack of creativity, but my generation has come to expect remixed songs or sampled music or reproduced movies from the 70’s, that we find more creative than the single individual works that go into the making of the new production.

Most people do not understand copyright law, and assume that if you are borrowing parts of someone else’s work, you are taking credit for other people’s work and that this is unacceptable, but in today’s society it is rare to find an orginal work or concept.

I personally believe that people need to be more educated on copyright laws and should also obtain permission before producing something similar, but I do not believe using **digital data covered by Copyright in a multimedia production reflects a lack of creativity, and as discussed previously, is not against the law in all cirumstances. However, it comes down to the individual to decide whether it is creative or not.



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