Everything Is a Remix – Great Series of video shorts about the history of copying
Everything Is a Remix is an impressive series of four video shorts by filmmaker Kirby Ferguson, examining the nature of the creative process, copying, and the implications of our laws on this creative process.
Some of legal information is oversimplified (e.g., copyright does not protect ideas but only the expression of ideas, and ideas are still generally free for copying unless that idea is the subject of a patent or trade secret), but his explanation of the history of intellectual property law, its purposes, and the current state of affairs in the intellectual property law field are spot on.
There is a lot of good stuff here. Ferguson obviously spent a great deal of time compiling examples of copying of ideas and content in the realms of music, film, and computers. The result is a high quality work that hangs together nicely as a compelling story.
While much of this is not new, I find intriguing his proposition that loss aversion is the root of greater and greater intellectual property protection. Recommended viewing for anyone interested in copyright and the creative process!
