Originality Imitation and Copyright Essay Example

Originality Imitation and Copyright Essay Zigkeyeah Collier CMST-223 Kovalcheck December 2, 2010 Originality, Imitation, and Copyright â€Å"He who imitates must have a care that what he writes be similar, not identical†- Petrach, Le familiari, XXIII (14thc) The foundation of the copyright law is built on the principle and idealistic American value of originality. Recognized as a Western ideal and value in the 18th century, originality is culturally constructed and accepted, but not truly defined, as an aspect of a created work that is deemed new or novel and is distinguishable from reproductions, copies, or other derivative works. In law, originality has become an important legal concept with respect to intellectual property, where creativity and invention have manifest as copyrightable works. Therefore, the institution of the copyright law protected originality by deeming a piece of work to be paramount while reducing all derivatives to copies or imitations. However, the extent of protection that the copyright law carries is limited, for the copyright law does not protect ideas, themes, or subject matter, only craftsmanship or form (Alfrey, 2000). As a result, under the law two identical pieces of work are able to claim protection, provided the effort behind each work is discernibly independent of one another. There is no statutory definition of infringement, just as there is no statutory definition of originality. However, copying, even if unintentional, can still surmount to a conviction of infringement. Proof must then â€Å"rely on circumstantial evidence, which requires scrutinizing the manner and sequence in which the artist worked† (Alfrey, 2000). We will write a custom essay sample on Originality Imitation and Copyright specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Originality Imitation and Copyright specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Originality Imitation and Copyright specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In other words, the perpetrator must supply sufficient evidence showing that no intention was made to copy the â€Å"essential quality of a particular work† causing an unfair advantage of effort of work from the predecessor (Alfrey, 2000). Yet the legality aspect of originality does not linger on similarities and differences in artistic merit, but focuses solely on the illicit reproduction and replication of style and form. The legal system differentiates imitation from copying by delineating the two into separate actions. Petrarch an Italian scholar, poet, and â€Å"Father of Humanism† best compares the two forms of action in his piece Le familiari when he writes: â€Å"He who imitates must have a care that what he writes be similar, not identical . . . and that the similarity should not be of the kind that obtains between a portrait and a sitter, where the artist earns the more praise the greater the likeness, but rather of the kind that obtains between a son and his father . . we (too) should take care that when one thing is like, many should be unlike, and that what is like should be hidden so as to be grasped only by the minds silent enquiry, intelligible rather than describable. We should therefore make use of another mans inner quality and tone, but avoid his words. For the one kind of similarity is hidden and the other protrudes; the one creates poets, the other apes. † (Petrach, Le familiari, XXIII) Imitation is distinguishable from copying in that it allows the imitator a certain amount of freedom to move in any artistic direction desired as long as he does not directly quote from the from a specific piece of work without acknowledgement. In contrast, the action of copying is a form of direct reproduction with little to indistinguishable differentiation from the original piece of work. The ancient philosopher, Plato, created a mythical being he called the simulacrum (Plato, 1984). Found within the lowest ring of in the hierarchy of the arts of producing a work, the simulacrum is able to re-image itself, in an attempt to double any figure it chooses. The simulacrum, however, is not able to completely model or replicate itself exactly like the first figure, but only able to portray a â€Å"distant semblance†, so that the doubled figure seemingly looks copied but is different or imitated and thus corrupted (Striphas, 2009). Although the simulacrum does not replicate an exact copy of the first figure, its false portrayal creates a blurring of the boundary lines separating the definitions of what is considered original and by default what is regarded as a derivative, resulting in the questioning of what truly constitutes a work as original and if originality is able to exist. The 2000 Harry Potter trademark and copyright infringement case entitled, Scholastic, Inc. , J. K. Rowling, Time Warner Entertainment Company, L. P. . Nancy Stouffer, best exemplifies the contested problems the figure of the simulacrum can cause when determining originality, yet also show how the concept of simulacra can be used in the legal realm to support the copyright law and intellectual property rights. The Scholastic, Inc. et. al. v. Stouffer case began in August of 1999, when Nancy Stouffer and her lawyers requested that she receive compensation from Scholastic Inc. , the American publisher for the Harry Potter series by J. K . Rowling. She alleged that many of the physical attributes of Harry Potter as well as terminology presented throughout the book, such as the word â€Å"Muggles† were â€Å"willfully borrowed without permission, or copied, from her own books entitled the Legend of Rah and the Muggles which had been published in 1988 or a decade earlier (Stouffer, 2001). Stouffer then argued that she was the only one who held ownership rights to the word â€Å"Muggles† and therefore was the only one who could license it (Scholastic et. al. v. Stouffer, 2000). Although it seems reasonable that Stouffer would be the one to file suit, in November of 1999, it was Scholastic, Inc. that filed a case against Nancy Stouffer, in order to get a â€Å"declaratory judgment that they had not infringed and are not infringing any of†¦Nancy Stouffer’s copyrights or trademarks† (Scholastic et. al. v. Stouffer, 2000). Strategically, this made Stouffer the defendant and required that she bear the burden of proof, and it was Stouffer that had to present evidence declaring that her works were the original and not the simulacrum and therefore required protection of original ownership under the law. To build her defense, Stouffer presented six key pieces of evidence each having copyright dates of 1988 and older while also showing a title with the lucrative word, â€Å"Muggle† and pictures of her character called, Larry Potter, which had a very strong resemblance to Rowling’s Harry Potter (Scholastic et. al. v. Stouffer, 2000). Stouffer’s case seemed solid, except she lacked one important piece of evidence that showed J. K. Rowling â€Å"willfully† copied her work and violated her intellectual property rights (Scholastic et. al. v. Stouffer, 2000). This is important because only structural replication, not ideas and themes, are protected under the copyright law and are accepted as infringement in cases of right to intellectual property. Seemingly, Stouffer’s defense case was solid; however, Scholastic’s team of attorneys implemented the idea of simulacra to denounce Stouffer’s evidence as fraudulent and corrupt. The team showed through several feats of incredible engineering that the words â€Å"The Legend of† and â€Å"the Muggles† were printed in ink and through technology that was only available in 1991 or later. They also found that an advertisement found in a magazine that Stouffer had presented as evidence was a reconstructed version of the original ad, which Scholastic’s attorneys presented to the court. The advertisement endorsed a book entitled â€Å"Rah† instead of â€Å"The Legend of Rah and the Muggles† which was on the falsified version Stouffer presented. Lastly, they discredited photocopies and a paragraph from a book mentioning the name of the alleged Larry Potter, by again proving that the inks used in the photos were not produced until sometime after 1991 or 1992 (Scholastic et. al. v. Stouffer, 2000). The Plaintiffs had not particularly shown that Rowling’s work was original, but had successfully unveiled the simulacrumatic nature of Stouffer’s work deeming it unoriginal as well. This resulted in the court decision that the â€Å"Plaintiffs’ publication, distribution, and exploitation of the Harry Potter books do not violate any of Stouffer’s intellectual property right. Stouffer is permanently enjoined from making false representations to third parties indications that she owns all right in the â€Å"Muggle† and â€Å"Muggles† trademark and copyrights, indicating that plaintiffs have violated her intellectual property rights†. Scholastic et. al. v. Stouffer, 2002) Yet, what is most interesting about the case is that Stouffer had some legitimate evidence that in 1992, she had successfully contested for trademark registration for the word â€Å"Muggle†, in 1986, she had copyrighted and illustration of a Muggle character, and i n 1987 she copyrighted a song called â€Å"Muggle-bye† which was placed with the book â€Å"Rah† (â€Å"’Harry Potter’ book lawsuit†, 2000). Unfortunately, the court dismissed this evidence after learning that Stouffer not only failed to register the word with the federal trademark office until February of 2000, but also that Rowling acquired her term â€Å"Muggle† from an English slang word, meaning â€Å"easily-fooled† (Bone, 2000) and Stouffer had acquired her term â€Å"Muggle† from a nickname which she oftentimes called her son (Scholastic et. al. v. Stouffer, 2002). Again, the court does not care so much about ideas or themes in context, but the craftsmanship, acquisition, and form of the content. Since both women had crafted the term â€Å"Muggle† from different perspectives, the court decided that the word could have no since of specific origin and therefore void of any sense of originality, so even Scholastic, Inc. could not trademark the word. There are many other instances outside this case where the word Muggle appears (Thomas, 2000). So in the absence of an origin, all the instances where the word â€Å"Muggle† can be found can be deduced as all the same†¦but different (Striphas, 2009). The copyright law cannot be based on absolute uniqueness, but must recognize originality in terms of â€Å"firstness in order† to separate two works that seem identical or â€Å"substantially similar† (Gaines, 1991). In the scholastic case, the origin of the word Muggles were so dissimilar that a judgment in firstness in order could not be rendered. Therefore, simulacra, or the idea of imitation, should have business in the legal realm since it only causes confusion and problems, but from the aforementioned case of Scholastic et. al. v. Stouffer the simulacra does not always have to operate outside or against the law but can be used as an â€Å"instrument to secure exclusive property claims as well† (Striphas, 2009). Originality, if it exists at all, is not an absolute; its identification is subject to a scale of relative values and knowledge, it is conditional to time and place. It must be measured against its imitators. However, the development of the idea of individualism elevates the value of originality and, at the same time, blurs its definition (Alfrey, 2000). Individualism has continually encumbered many generations of artists and creators with the increasingly elusive search and goal of achieving originality. As more ideas and their expressions are generated with each passing year, originality becomes more rare and imitation more present with the use of precedent becoming more insistent and inescapable. Works Cited Alfrey, Penelope. Petrarchs Apes: Originality, Plagiarism and. MIT Communications Forum. MIT, 2000. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. . Bone, J. Magical Authors Go to War on Custody of Muggles. The Time (2000). Lexis-Nexis. 18 Mar. 2000. Gaines, J. â€Å"Contested Culture: The Image, the Voice, and the Law. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991. â€Å"‘Harry Potter’ book lawsuit: â€Å"Legend of Rah and Muggles† author claims trademark violations†. Burden of Proof. 5 Jul. 2000. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. . Petrarch, Le familiari, XXIII, quoted in Gombrich, E. , â€Å"Norm and Form: Studies in the Art of the Renaissance†. Phaidon Press, 1966. Scholastic, Inc. , J. K. Rowling, and Time Warner Entertainment Company, L. P. v. Nancy Stouffer. 99 Civ. 11480 (AGS), 124 F. Supp. 2d 836 (S. D. N. Y), 2000. Scholastic, Inc. , J. K. Rowling, and Time Warner Entertainment Company, L. P. v. Nancy Stouffer. 99 Civ. 11480 (AGS), 221 F. Supp. 2d 425 (S. D. N. Y), 2002. Striphas, Ted. Harry Potter and the Simulacrum: Contested Copies in an Age of Intellectual Property. Critical Studies in Media Communication 26. 4 (2009): 295-311. Thomas, I. â€Å"CNN is Mugged by the ‘Muggle Affair. ’† Slate. 21 Jul. 2000. Web. 01 Dec. 2010 .

In Regards To

In Regards To In Regards To In Regards To By Maeve Maddox A web search for â€Å"in regards to† brings up 680 million links, thousands of which lead to articles telling readers that â€Å"in regards to† is nonstandard English. Apparently quite a few English speakers have managed to avoid reading any of them. Nonstandard â€Å"in regards to† continues to spread, and not just on blogs and in comments written by the educationally challenged. Here are some examples from sites that aspire to some sort of professional expertise: Elasticity of Ridership In Regards to Transit Fare and Service Changes headline over an About.com article ICA President McLean Changes Tune in Regards to CCE headline at The Chronicle of Chiropractic Nitrogen Inversion in regards to Stereochemistry title of study guide at ucla.edu McDonalds in regards to globalization and business change title of an essay offered at a UK site The phrase â€Å"in regard to† means â€Å"about, regarding, concerning.† Speakers who put an â€Å"s† on regard in â€Å"in regard to† and â€Å"with regard to† are perhaps confusing these phrases with â€Å"as regards†: As regards your question concerning the membership of the Universal House BBC policy as regards interviewers/journalists and their relationship with government officials In the expressions â€Å"in regard to† and â€Å"with regard to,† regard is a noun; in the expression â€Å"as regards,† regards is a verb. The noun regard does take the plural in certain other idioms. For example, Give my regards to your parents. Best regards, Sam Speakers who find it difficult to remember to omit the â€Å"s† can avoid nonstandard â€Å"in regards to† and â€Å"with regards to† by using regarding in their place. Related post: In Regard to Your Letter Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?Used To vs. Use ToHow to Punctuate Introductory Phrases

Reflection and DQ's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflection and DQ's - Essay Example As such, CSR was described to entail elements which include commitment to serve the best interests of society; yet ensuring that the organization grows through the generation of profits. Without earning financial resources, the organization would not be able to sustain continued operations in producing products or services that would benefit its stakeholders, including the environment and the general public. Finally, the success of CSR also requires consumer social responsibilities to do their part in sustaining and supporting the organization’s commitment to succeed in their field of endeavor. One shares similar contentions that the popularity of applying CSR was considered analogous to a bandwagon paradigm. By merely asserting that the organization adheres to CSR philosophies was already indicative of conformity to ethical, moral, and legal standards. As explained in the video, there are crucial ingredients to consider before CSR could be effectively exemplified. One strongly believes that CSR would only be successful and effective, if and when, the board members or members of the executive team have in-depth understanding of what CSR ideals and philosophies entail. As such, it was commendable to insinuate that the application of CSR goes hand in hand with corporate governance. Thus, organizations should not publicly promote adherence to CSR philosophies without genuine commitment to abiding with ethical standards. There should be a balanced application of business practices that give equal weights to generation of profits vis-Ã  -vis serving the interests of others. The description of CSR accurately attested an exemplary understanding of the relevant lessons presented from the video. The commitment of the organization to look beyond what they offer in terms of products or services that generate profits, to include the ensuring that the effects of these products (or services) generate positive impact to society

The Industrial Revolution in England Personal Statement

The Industrial Revolution in England - Personal Statement Example But this is the story of the working class. Enclosure meant that the poor, rather than the rich, constituted landless labourers. The working class had therefore lost their independence, their soul and dignity to work. But my quality of life despite this may have improved in general. The Industrial Revolution changed Manchester from a rural, and agricultural society, to an urban and industrial society. The Industrial Revolution has bought significant benefits. The spinning jenny has reduced the amount of work needed to produce yarn, the Industrial Revolution has also bought to us the steam engine, and the power driven machinery in the textile industry, in our mills, for steam-powered looms for weaving. Importantly, families are now able to generate a greater income, as the wife is now able to stay at home and work the fields whilst the husband can work freely in the factory. But a Manchester once made up of peasant farmers, enjoying rural England, became unfortunately a Manchester soaked in sap and tar that so vehemently attacked our lungs. Despite technological advances, Manchester factories turned into breeding grounds for slave-driven worker standards. Revenue took over from efficiency; employer standards took priority over employee standards. But improvements in travel conditions, such as stronger bridges and roads, and the other inventions that we can now exploit, such as the st

Extreme Sports Essay Example for Free

Extreme Sports Essay It is quite common these days for sport players in many countries to get injured during they are playing sports. People reckon this phenomenon is especially true when people play some relatively more violent and extreme sports. Although those sports court the excitement and challenge the utmost of human being which certainly cannot be brought by other common sport, but, still some conservative people advocate to ban this kind of sport. Those people who assert to ban dangerous sport in publics, the first thing they have to do is to define what sorts of sports are dangerous. Clearly, people divide the sport according to their tendency to lead people injury. But dilemma has occurred here. We all know that there is no definite safe or dangerous sports. Even the safest sports , you can name it, be it running or swimming, they all can induce danger or even pose a threat to peoples life. Sport player may involve in incidents or they can be drowned, this is not limited to those who are unable to swimming, but also evident among those who are good at swimming, they may die because of exhaustion or careless or even be attacked by shark when they swimming in sea. So, the so called safe sports do take peoples lives. Opposing, if in a extreme sport such as skiing, if the player have been correctly educated and trained, with proper protective equipment and play with cautions, then the danger will minimize to the least, even safer than the so called safe sports. To sum up, there is not really dangerous sports if we have put necessary protective equipment, or the proper training and the education has been set in. meanwhile, even the non-dangerous sport also brings bad results if we are careless. So, probably, no sport is really dangerous, the real danger is careless and unsecure equipment. Thus, governments’ role here is not to ban the dangerous sport, but to provide the proper guide to let the player enjoy the sport and in the mean time knows how to play safely.

Work Experience Essay -- Papers

Work Experience Work experience. The first time those words were mentioned I felt a cold shiver slowly descend down my back. Images of spending a week with unknown people in dead-end jobs flooded into my head. It was obviously going to be far too much effort for what it was worth. Yet, another side of me said do I want to be watching paint dry, or even watching grass grow.’ This is not where I want to be. I want to be out, I want to be experiencing, living, running, jumping, eating, playing, screaming, laughing, anything. I had to apply to a company for a two week placement, and this had to be done through proper procedures, so I had to make sure my curriculum vitae was up to date and well presented. I first began to think what type of work experience would I most enjoy and benefit from. I thought I would like to work in a computer related placement since I am doing IT as a GCSE and I have a keen interest in it. I went along to the careers office and talked to the careers teacher but he didn’t quite have what I wanted so I went home and done some research on the internet and found a contact number and e-mail, I phoned the number and asked about any work experience opportunities and they said the best thing was to e-mail my queries to a certain e-mail address. I e-mailed this person and they replied wanting to know what was the exact specification of this work experience. After several e-mails, they told me to send my CV along with a letter of application and so I did. A few weeks later I received a e-mail saying they do not do work experience for GCSE students, but added by saying they were planning to launch such opportunities... ...ing and informative week, I enjoyed every part of it as most of the tasks I comprehended them as challenging. I was made to feel extremely welcome by all of the members of the staff. I found the week very informative because I found out that it is definitely the sort of business I would like to do when I leave school/university. By taking up this work, it had made me feel differently about my career plan as how crucial it really is before this work experience. When I look back at my work experience in about five years time I would like to think of it as â€Å"It was worth every penny†. Also how a great deal it was influential in playing a crucial part in my life when I reflect back! I walked to the train station feeling satisfied with myself. I arrived home feeling rather cheerful and surprisingly looking forward to school.

How the World Began Essay

A long long time ago, when there was yet no world, there were three gods who lived in a small circular space of great brightness called a banting, and encircled by a rainbow. The space was just large enough for the two gods, Magbabaya and Dadanyahan, to sit across each other. The third god, the winged Makabughaw, sat precariously between the two and had to flap his wings continuously to maintain his balance. Makabughaw’s flapping of his wings created the first wind. Taking pity on Makabughaw, the one-headed Magbabaya (meaning Your will be done) decided to build an extension so the poor Makabughaw could rest. To this, he had to scoop soil from under the ten-headed Dadanyahan. He asked Makabughaw to do his for him. After studying the situation, Makabughaw swooped into Dadanyahan mouths and divided right through him so he could get soil from that point. He gave the soil to Magbabaya who created earth from it.However, the earth was dry. How could it be turned lush and green? As Magbabaya puzzled over the problem, he happened to glance at Dadanyahan’s ten drooling mouths. Suddenly, he realized where he could get enough water to sprinkle over the earth. Dadanyahan agreed to the plan. Magbabaya blessed Dadanyahan’s saliva and the rain poured. Water washed over the earth. It shaped the mountains, hills, valleys, and plains; it made the streams, rivers and huge seas and oceans. Soon, vegetation began to sprout and grow. But this huge garden needed someone to take care of it. The two gods scooped some earth, and with t he help from Dadanyahan’s saliva , turned it into sticky clay to form a figure. They collected wood for its bones, rattan for its blood vessels and water for its blood. They molded seven figures on Magbabaya’s image. After the seventh figure was molded, Magbabaya had to leave to take care of a few things. But before leaving, he told Dadanyahan no to tamper with the figures. Left alone with the figures, Dadanyahan could not help touching them up the way he thought they should look. Magababaya returned to find Dadanyahan using his creative talents on the figures. This triggered fight between them, which Makabughaw tried to arbitrate in vain. The two gods dueled with each other until their metal weapons sank to the ground. The human race later forged these minerals into its own weapons and modes of transport. Finally, the warring gods reached an  agreement. Because Dadanyahan had made the final form of the figures, he kept the six figures while Magbabaya had only one since it was he who thought up the idea. Dadanyahan’s six figures became the various engkanto of guardians of the soil, water, and marine life, the plants, forests and creatures of the forest. Magbabaya’s lone figure became the first human being. The bits of clay cut from the figures as they were being molded became lower forms of animals. Thus, did the world begin. .