"Walled Gardens & Creative Commons"

After thinking about this weeks reading 'The Grey Album' I began to think about content I come into contact with throughout my daily life that may involve issues in telation to 'copyright wars'. For instance my friend had a CD in his car that he had copied his favourtie songs onto in order to create an enjoyable mix of music while driving his car. This is because he does not like listening to the radio due to advertising breaks in the music and programming involving discussion such as the B105 morning crew. So in copying a number of mp3s onto one blank CD he is creating his own music listening experience without having to pay for it.

The problem with this however is that the owners of the music and the musicians are not recieving any benefit from this. Whether it be downloading free mp3s off the internet or simply owning an Ipod that stores thousands of songs, copyright laws are being tested and boundaries being cross by individuals all over the world. Another example that comes to mind in this situation is the copying of DVDs that are hired out from video stores. Brainstorming this idea I visioned the advertisment at the beginning of the movies that says "you wouldn't steal a car, or someones purse but burning DVDs is stealing".

I also on many occasions hear on the radio two songs being mixed together to create a new song, which in most cases is very enjoyable. The issue here is that in some cases the owners of the rights to these recording that are being re-released as mixes are not aware of its use. In these instances the creator of these new works is in breach of copyright laws. To avoid this situation individuals only need to pay an initial fee to use the content if they are given permission by the owners of the rights.

It was commented by Johnathan Ziltrain (as cited in Rimmer, 2005) that there is a need for revisions in copyright law. This is because in some instances individuals such as Disc Jockeys have provided the public with a transformative use of the original works. In this case the work or creator is protected by the defence of fair use.

So in todays technologiacally advanced world there are many tools for individuals to be innovative creators but there are many old laws that restrict our creative minds. This is my interpretation of what the lecture is implying "Walled gardens and creative commons". I believe this issue will not be resolved due to the changing nature of technology and the ease in which we are able to recreate and interact with our own entertainment!