Copyright Reflection

1. What is the major concern in the case of Princes appropriation of Carious

pictures? What are the photography communitys concerns versus those of the
artistic community at large?

In the case of Princes appropriation of Carious pictures the major concern is whether the

reproduction of the photo as art was fair use or if the copyright was violated. This unease was

because the ruling in this case could have far reaching implications on the lives and work of

either party. The photography communitys concern as it relates to this issue is that the

derivative right of the copyright act prohibits the reproduction of works for commercial

purposes thereby preserving photographers sole right to earn a living from their work. On the

other hand, the artistic community sees the adoption of another persons work where is it

transformed as fair use. They believe that by transforming the work they in fact add value to

it and society as a whole is culturally enriched by it.

2. Do you agree with the final ruling on Prices work? Why or why not?

In my opinion the fairness of the ruling is very subjective, so much so that even the courts which

are held in highest esteem fail to agree on this issue. However, for the sake of argument I

disagree with the ruling in this case because Prince did not seek permission to use the images

which was wrong and a violation of the copyright act. If permission was sought to use the

image and the image was transformed to a degree where elements of the original work was
present but the work itself was much different I would not see any harm in its use; unless it was

expressly stated that the image should not be transformed or sold. The copyright derivative

law gives the holder of the copyright the right to all derivatives (Burke, 2009). That means that

the work could only be used, changed or distributed in the ways stated by the copyright holder.

What makes this issue even more contentious is the fact that the artist made a considerable

amount of money from the images and that could have affected Carious sales which is unfair

because the images were not transformed drastically.

3. Do you think a ruling in favor of Cariou could stifle creativity? Can you think of any
examples of similar issues in your home country?

A ruling in favor of Cariou could have an effect on creativity in that it limits what one can do to

other peoples work but if creativity is an innate ability then artists should not have problem

rerouting their expression. I have never heard or come across any cases similar to this in my

country that has gone to court but I recognize some remixed elements of musical arrangements

of artists such as Calypso Rose in some of the productions of a young female calypsonian in my

country.

4. Do some extracurricular research on remix culture, what is it? How are young adults
using it today?

Remixing is defined as the act of rearranging, combining and editorializing and adding originals

to create something entirely new (Jassell, 2013). Remix culture is a description of how culture

today allows or encourages derivative works by combining or editing existing material to

produce an entirely new product. It is seen as taking the copyrighted works of others and

improving it by integrating other elements into it. For example in the gaming world

professional games are taken by amateurs and modified in creative ways that the original

designer may not have thought of. This process of improving original works is called

modding.

For more information on the remix culture modding please go to the link below.
http://www.lingualgamers.com/thesis/augmented_reality_games.html
5. What points does Burwell make about the use and implications of remixing for
contemporary critical learning?

Burwell purports that the exploration of video remixes allows for important ideas to be

introduced and questions to be asked. She feels that it opens up discussions of theoretically

rich concepts such as media ideology, creativity, appropriation, intellectual property and fair use

which are at the center not only of current debates over the future configuration of digital

media, but also of young peoples media practices (Burwell, 2013). In her opinion the act of

viewing , discussing and critiquing remixes assists both teacher and students in creating an

explicit pedagogy of critical vocabularies that can be carried forward in further explorations of

digital text, practices and production. She argues that these kinds of discussions about

creativity are an essential part of literacy education in a culture in which it is increasingly

necessary not to simply consume but to critique, customize, create and recreate digital texts.

She thinks that these types of inquiries have the advantage of bridging the divide between

young peoples experiences of media and technology inside and outside of school contexts.

6. What does she suggest schools should adopt in order to take advantage of the
potential benefits of participating in and studying remix culture?

Burwell draws on the work of Luke (2000) to emphasize the importance of exploring the

adoption of a curriculum that takes into account literacys embeddedness within fields of power,

value and exchange which she feels can be advanced to the study of remix culture.

7. What is your opinion of remixing? Do you think it has a place in post-secondary

education? Why or why not?

Learning can happen in both small and big ways that is not necessarily linear, but spiral

(Cranton, 2000). Teaching and learning has changed as much as our cultures have evolved

therefore, the adoption of a transformative pedagogical approach is necessary at all levels of

education. Remixing is a form of expression which demonstrates ones creativity in combining

old and new ideas to create something fresh. These creations make the world we live in more

interesting and diverse. Remixing can transform learning by providing opportunities to blend

creativity, experiences, cultures and emerging technology.

8. What potential does Creative Commons hold for both Fair use issues as well as
contemporary remix culture?

Creative commons is a license that copyright holders use to share knowledge and promote

creativity by allowing others to reuse and share their work. This would eliminate the need for

potential users to seek permission to reuse work create by others, thereby allowing them the

freedom to express themselves in various ways.

Reference

Burwell, C. (2003). The Pedagogical potential of video remix: Critical conversations about
culture, creativity and copyright. International Reading Association. Retrieved from
www.academia.com
.

Crapton, P. (2000). Individuation and authenthicity in transformative learning. Paper

presented at the Third International Conference on Transformative Learning. New York: NY

Jassell, M. (2013). Remix Culture: Rethinking What We Call Original Content. Marketingland

http://marketingland.com/remix-culture-rethinking-what-we-call-original-content-41791