It is impossible to own an idea! It is merely just an idea. A formation of thoughts that can come together and create that one spark needed to start a giant fire. I suppose if you were a lawyer you would take that spark, put it on paper, copyright the s***house out of it and then roll in your creation’s revenue...but not everyone is a lawyer.
It was news to me to find out that Disney stole the idea of Steamboat Willie from an already existing silent film, but what I did already know was that Disney steals parts of other cultures to re-create a film for kids. I shouldn’t say “steals” but rather Disney borrows its aspects and creates something that can be simply understood. When I think back to watching Mulan for the first time, I remember thinking how different this movie was to the rest I had seen. This was a brand new culture I had not seen before, nor did I know anything about it. But it was out there.
Lawrence Lessig makes a good point when he says:
"Creators here and everywhere are always and at all times building upon the creativity that went before and that surrounds them now"
"Creators here and everywhere are always and at all times building upon the creativity that went before and that surrounds them now"
Obviously different cultures and symbols mark a good place for creators to start thinking; even fictional stories must have a birth place in the heart of everyday life. In the case of doujinshi, these comics survive by being copycats of manga comics. They use an already-thought-of idea and copy it to make the doujinshi comics. In the same way that culture jamming uses already-thought-of symbols to create a message for the consumer market. For example: the McDonalds symbol
I believe that Lessig is bothered by the fact that not all creative rights are free. Perhaps if they were, more things like doujinshi would exist, however we do have to live under the law and “intellectual property” is that law, but it can have holes. Hence why Walt Disney Inc. has and will continue to re-create existing ideas for the growth of their company.
Lessig L, 2005, ‘Free Culture: The nature and future of creativity’, Penguin, Sydney
