I just found this 2009 Good video on YouTube, and found it pretty accurate for a discussion we’ve all been circling lately: IP. Lincoln Schatz is a video artist who wants to start brain sharing with people that he admires so that he could see the world through their eyes. And the conversation led to the conclusion that he retained the knowledge he learned during the process after he gave the brain back to the original owner.
This is pretty much how we all invent the worlds in our heads. As people have been saying for ages, all creations are inspired by some predecessor. There will be differences as we incorporate our uniqueness into the new output, but the original idea also lives on. And that’s the key right there, “the original content lives on”. This talk that our governments and IP stakeholders use that copying is theft refuse to realize that their own actions are dependent on the existence of prior actions and ideas. If they were left to their own devices, there is a significant chance that the majority of creativity would not evolve as quickly as it does. Why? Because people are using the originals as the foundation for new building blocks.
Nothing is stolen. But something is definitely created, and it’s nothing like the original. That’s what living is all about: Sharing is Caring (it’s a bit grainy but the tune is catchy, as is the message).
p.s. Little kids are taught this lesson at a very early age (though it’s forgotten as they get older – like when they’re adults): Sharing by Notebook Babies
