Sonni Jackson's Blog

After taking my first few courses here at Full Sail University, I was afraid to use anybody’s work.  Even worst, I was afraid to create my own work in fear that I would be breaking some laws.   The videos on copyright helped calmed those fears considerably.

Random Thoughts About The State of Copyright

Times are changing.  Creativity is changing.  People are changing.  Therefore, copyright laws should also change.  What good is material, if no one can see or use it?  Additionally, the film and music industries need to change and adapt and stop focusing on doing business as usual.

When people are able to remix music, I believe it gives life to the original music and creator. 

I am thankful for Creative Commons.  I learned about the site in one of my earlier classes but I never really took the time to understand and use it.  Creative Commons adds flexibility and gives creators more control as to how their work is copied and distributed.

In high school, I wrote a piece of music and I remember my teacher telling me it sounds like a song he’d heard before.  However, I’d never heard the song or of the author.  With the amount of music and other creatively created art in the world, it stands to reason that innocent creators will create something that is either the same or extremely similar to something that already exists.  How do you overcome this issue while not stifling the creative community?

Response

Sonni, I can relate to your concerns about creating your own work in fear that it could break some laws.  If you get a change read my blog on Is It Really Yours?  However, what interests me more about your blog was in the last paragraph when you spoke on your teacher said the music you wrote sound like something they heard before. I wrote a poem about creativity

 "Sometimes you can be inspired within, sometimes you can be inspired by others, or sometimes by something…"

When you wrote that song I am sure it was inspirational and creative, but music has been repeated for centuries and although you never had that melody before you created just a few notes of that melody that had some similarity sound of what your teacher heard before.  It doesn't mean it was not your own original piece because it was it just may shared one or two notes from someone else who had the same idea.