Category Archives: Authorship

Anonymous No More

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A recent bill proposed in the Illinois State Senate would make anonymous website forums reveal their true identities or risk having their content taken down.

Although not technically an issue of copyright, it does tie into our discussion of authorship. Our unalienable right to free speech has come under-attack, yet again, on the internet. I am of the belief that our right to anonymity and privacy is an all important aspect of what makes this country great. But I would like to pose the question: To what extent does free speech go? Do we all have the right to not have our words attributed to us?

 

Copying is Sharing!

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I found this interesting website i’m using as a source for my essay and I came by a few videos about copyright.  The main argument is that copyright was created for the publisher’s benefit and not the author’s protection and therefore copying isn’t “stealing” but simply sharing ideas.  I like the comedic approach and simplistic view to a widely debated complex topic in this video.

 

The Making of a Renaissance Book

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After Professor Phillips mentioned the 20 minute documentary during our printing demonstration on friday I decided to take a look. Assuming you can look past the sometimes maddening soundtrack, I found it very interesting that only half of the 20 minutes were on what we did in class thursday. The first half of the documentary was about the craftsmen who physically make the letters that are assembled by the printer. A process that is seemingly more meticulous and time consuming than the demonstration we had (if you can believe it). Its hard to even imagine the amount of work and time that goes into printing just one letter, let alone an entire book. Before the advent of modern technology, printing must have been an incredibly long and time consuming process, more so than I could have imagined even after the printing demonstration. This documentary really makes you appreciate the rare books we have seen, the effort it must have taken to make just one of those books is astounding.

For those of you interested in viewing the documentary it can be found on our moodle page under Authorship and Book History.

Faulkner

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I stumbled across an article the other day that discussed William Faulkner’s famous quote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past” and the fact that this line was said in the movie “Midnight in Paris”. Apparently, this is a huge deal, as the company that owns the right to many of Faulkner’s works is suing because of this statement. Now, we all know that the main purpose of copyright it to protect the work and rights of the author. However, I think it is safe to say that the reason the company is suing in this case is for personal gain, not to protect the rights of the author (as not only is the author dead, but character in the movie who states this line mentions right after that it was Faulkner who stated it). I think that this is a prime example of how many companies who own the rights of a deceased author’s work  may abuse this power and copyright as a whole, using it mainly to make money. I really don’t think that the company suing in this case is worried that Faulkner’s work is being stolen.

Here is the article:faulkner-estate-sues-over-midnight-in-paris-quote.html

registering a work

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At EPI the professor explained to us how easy it is to register a work on the US Copyright Office website so after hearing this, I decided to explore the website myself.  I was surprised to learn that for only $35 someone could file a basic claim online and it only takes about 2.5 months to process online. In my mind, I always expected copyrighting to not only be a long process, but also an expensive one.  Before visiting the website, it also never crossed my mind that copyrights in the US are recognized in many other countries and vice versa.  After looking at this website, I also got to thinking about patents.  Unlike copyrights, patents require lawyers.  Having to hire a lawyer not only makes a patent more expensive than a copyright, but I would think it would also increase the length of time it takes to acquire one.   We put a great deal of value on our belongings and property, so I would think that if more people were to recognize how easy and cheap it is to file a claim for a copyright, more would do so.

Connections with TV

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Today while watchingg one of my favorite television shows, the British comedy “Peep Show”, I came across a scene which relates excellently with the main themes of the class. In this episode, one of the main characters, Mark, is offered the chance to have his book published by a shady publishing company. In the offer, the company wants Mark to give them a payment of 2000 pounds, promising him that they will sell many copies of the book and make him rich. Against the advice of his friend Jeremy, Mark takes the offer and makes the down payment. Unfortunately for Mark, he soon finds out he has been scammed. The copies of the book end up not being legitimate. Rather, they are produced cheaply through photocopying, with no effort done to make them look presentable. As a result, nobody buys the book. This scam illustrates the importance of copyright laws. The fake publishing company knew that Mark not only didn’t have a copyright on his work, but wasn’t very concerned with this aspect of the book selling industry. As a result, the people running the scam knew that they would be able to get away with their devious plot fairly easily.

West Wing Reference #2

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Last week we discussed the dynamic between an author’s voice in a literary work and readers bringing their own assumptions to a piece. I think a literary work that epitomizes the controversy and difficulty in determining how to balance the two sides is the Bible. How does or should one read the Bible, which is automatically presuming there is a correct way to read it? In the West Wing clip, Dr. Jacobs believes that the Bible should be read and interpreted strictly–the letter of the law. President Bartlett points out, however, that following that method leads to many modern day scenarios with which she would not agree. Who is the author(s) of the Bible and should it be read with their intentions in mind or should it be adapted to readers’ modern day values?

Intellectual “Property”

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I hadn’t even thought of this before. The very term intellectual property has property in it. Copyrights, which seek to protect intellectual property, are nothing more than divergent land property laws. In reading this article, I came upon some recent historical roots of this idea. The article deals with the pains of authors by profession in 19th century England, before the Copyright Act of 1842. Seeing literary work as true labor, these authors would argue one should have a right to it as one does to his property. Only reading a bit of the article, it would appear that the desire for copyright laws comes out of the desire to make authorship a profession. To protect one’s own skill, some government assistance would be required. After all, no one can steal the skill of the carpenter, the metal worker, the engineer. It is the poor author, who’s very genius can be reproduced and disseminated unbeknownst to him, who needs the help.

Course of the Course

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In our first week of readings and discussions, we talked about how technology and available materials affect publication. We also analyzed the experience between author and reader and how it relates to ownership of text. I am interested how in these ideas, as well as those that we will learn about this semester, apply to literary and daily experiences in today’s age and in the future. What do I mean by that?

Recently, I sent out an email to set up a meeting for my Student Organization Committee. One of the committee members emailed back asking what he should bring to the meeting to which I was going to respond a pen and paper until I realized that this technology is becoming increasingly outdated. Smartphone technology, iPads, computers, etc. are changing the way people record notes. What does this mean for how note taking and idea exchange is recorded? How will we access and assess this information in the future when smartphones, iPads, and computers are outdated? In 100 or 1000 years, will people be able to look back at our notes and written record of exchanges like we were able to see when we looked at the cuneiform tablets in the library on Tuesday? Does it matter?

Secondly, when we discussed the relationship between reader and author presented by Baurtes (the reader adds his or her own interpretation to the work), it reminded me of the dilemma of text messaging and emails. More and more, technology is becoming a substitute for human interactions. Sometimes, readers misperceive the message sent via text or email because they cannot get the facial or vocal cues given by the author. Are there other instances that we will encounter that we can apply more broadly to our own lives?

Zero Draft Portfolio 1

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Just a few things I am thinking about for my first essay.

In our contemporary world and modern day society, copyright functions as a control in different markets.  From music to publishing, copyright acts as a way for artists and creators to decide under what conditions, if any, others may use their work.  If we no longer had the protection of copyright, then we could essentially take control of these different markets, adapting the creations within each to our own personal perceptions.  How could this be beneficial to the public? How would the elimination of copyright impact artists? If printing houses hadn’t differentiated themselves from one another, would copyright exist today?