Copyright Around Us

Copyright is ubiquitous. This page provides examples of copyright mentions in popular culture, including sources such as news articles, podcasts, and TED Talks. (Please see the About Page for an explanation of the website.)

Copyright and Music

Remix Culture

The Art of SamplingWhat's the difference between a librarian and a hip-hop DJ? The answer is not as much as you think. Both are archivists, preserving and organizing the past, one through books, the other through music.

How sampling transformed musicSampling isn't about "hijacking nostalgia wholesale," says Mark Ronson. It's about inserting yourself into the narrative of a song while also pushing that story forward. In this mind-blowingly original talk, watch the DJ scramble 15 TED Talks into an audio-visual omelette, and trace the evolution of "La Di Da Di," Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick's 1984 hit that has been reimagined for every generation since.

Embrace the remixNothing is original, says Kirby Ferguson, creator of Everything is a Remix. From Bob Dylan to Steve Jobs, he says our most celebrated creators borrow, steal and transform.

Digital Music Sampling: Creativity Or Criminality?The advent of the sampler in the '80s brought a long tradition of musical borrowing into the digital age. Today, "sampling," or repurposing a snippet of another artist's music, is mainstream. Is sampling theft, or is copyright law making creativity a crime?

The Art Of Sampling: Stolen, Not CopiedThe 1984 hit "La Di Da Di," by rappers Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh, has become one of the most sampled songs of all time. Music producer Mark Ronson talks with Guy Raz, host of NPR's TED Radio Hour.

Music Streaming and Downloading

Here's Why Taylor Swift Pulled Her Music From SpotifyThe 1989 star is telling artists to say no to low-royalty streaming services

The art of askingDon't make people pay for music, says Amanda Palmer: Let them. In a passionate talk that begins in her days as a street performer (drop a dollar in the hat for the Eight-Foot Bride!), she examines the new relationship between artist and fan.

How much do musicians really make from Spotify, iTunes and YouTube?Plus Tidal, Deezer, Rhapsody, Beats Music, Google Play and other digital services, as Information Is Beautiful updates its 2010 infographic

The music warsNew York Times tech columnist David Pogue performs a satirical mini-medley about iTunes and the downloading wars, borrowing a few notes from Sonny and Cher and the Village People.

Copyright and TV/Movies

Remember Ellen's famous selfie? In this article, Lesley Ellen Harris asks who owns it. When should permission be asked to repost it? The answer is more complicated that it might seem.

We'll Probably Never Free Mickey, But That's Beside the PointIn a mere 24 months, Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain—right? Wrong. Mickey Mouse is synonymous with copyright term extension, and with good reason. Every time the first Mickey cartoons creep towards the public domain, Disney's powerful lobbyists spring into action, lobbying Congress for a retrospective term-extension on copyright, which means that works that have already been created are awarded longer copyright terms.

Copyright and Literature

Employing his characteristic sense of humor, John Green takes a look at (his own) accidental misattribution and muses about some psychological aspects – what if someone does not realize that they are plagiarizing (or committing copyright infringement)? How does the internet complicate the copyright landscape?

(There is a distinction between copyright infringement and plagiarism, but this video blends the two.)

JK Rowling wins copyright claim over Harry Potter LexiconUS judge rules that publication of unauthorised guide would cause author irreparable harm

Rowling was right to stand up for copyrightJK Rowling was absolutely right to go to court over the Harry Potter Lexicon, says the general secretary of the Society of Authors

Harry Potter and the International Order of Copyright.If you're a serious Harry Potter fan, you finished The Order of the Phoenix over the weekend and are already impatient for the sixth book. While you wa ...

William Patry says that the dramatic lengthening of copyright has come at a large cost with little benefit to artists and consumers.www.cnn.com/2012/01/31/opinion/patry-copyright-law/

Copyright and Politics

This section includes two types of articles – those that involve the politics of copyright and those that happen to involve the intersection of copyright and political matters. It is in this section that I will introduce the idea that copyright law differs from country to country, which makes global copyright issues much more complex. However, this website focuses on the copyright system of the U.S., so I will not devote much time to articles about other countries' systems.

Why Martin Luther King's 'Dream' Speech Is So Hard to Find OnlineKing himself once sued to prevent the unauthorized sale of his speech. Today, the publicly given speech is still tightly controlled.

Re-examining the remixFormer "young Republican" Larry Lessig talks about what Democrats can learn about copyright from their opposite party, considered more conservative. A surprising lens on remix culture.

Laws that choke creativityLawrence Lessig, the Net’s most celebrated lawyer, cites John Philip Sousa, celestial copyrights and the "ASCAP cartel" in his argument for reviving our creative culture.

Why SOPA is a bad ideaWhat does a bill like PIPA/SOPA mean to our shareable world? At the TED offices, Clay Shirky delivers a proper manifesto -- a call to defend our freedom to create, discuss, link and share, rather than passively consume.

Why poor countries lead the world in piracyCory Doctorow: Beating copyright infringement in the third world could be as simple as making products affordable

Revealed: How copyright law is being misused to remove material from the internetWhen Annabelle Narey posted a negative review of a building firm on Mumsnet, the last thing on her mind was copyright infringement

America's broken digital copyright law is about to be challenged in courtThe Electronic Frontier Foundation is suing the US government over ‘unconstitutional’ use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Copyright and Fashion

Lessons from fashion's free cultureCopyright law's grip on film, music and software barely touches the fashion industry ... and fashion benefits in both innovation and sales, says Johanna Blakley. In her talk, she talks about what all creative industries can learn from fashion's free culture.

Forever 21 Files Copyright Infringement Suit, Accuses Other Retailers of CopyingHere is a lawsuit you do not see every day. Forever 21 has filed suit, accusing multiple other retailers of copying its designs. That is right; according to its complaint, which was filed in United States District Court for the Central District of California, the Los Angeles-based fast-fashion giant, claims that California corporations, C Luce (doing business as “TCEC”), and Cornerstone Apparel (doing business as “Papaya Clothing”), along with a number of other parties, (collectively, “the defendants”) copied one of its “original designs.”

Copyright and Technology

The Court Case That Almost Made It Illegal to Tape TV ShowsOnly a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling kept recording television shows with a VCR legal

50 Years of the Video Cassette RecorderInvented in 1956, the technology which produced the video cassette recorder (VCR) is already at the end of its days. But in its 50 years life span the VCR revolutionized the movie industry, changed television-watching habits, triggered the first ''format wars,'' and raised new copyright questions, establishing jurisprudence on fair use.

Copyright and Emerging Technologies – The Future of Copyright?

As 3-D Printing Becomes More Accessible, Copyright Questions AriseA 3-D printer allows people to easily create Yoda busts, Tintin's rocket ship — and even NPR action figures. But as this technology gets cheaper, the budding industry could face the same intellectual property battles that upended the music business a decade ago.

The discussions cover the interesting intersection of copyright law and the new technology of 3D printing. The speakers in the PBS Idea Channel video above, "Will 3D Printing Break Copyright?" also explain that the "nonfunctional" or decorative designs are the ones covered by copyright; functional designs may fall in the realm of patents or trademarks.

Know another good example that can be added to this page? You can use the form below to offer me suggestions!

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