Copy + Paste: A Roadblock in the Transformation of Capitalism
Posted on November 25, 2013 | posted by:The average millennial is somewhere indiscriminately downloading a movie that just hit theaters Friday, illegally streaming their favorite show they missed while out partying last night, and downloading an expensive, sexy font for their poster due tomorrow. As innovation continues to impact the expansion of mediums of representation and expression, demand for creative content protection is on the rise. Torrent Freak, “The place where breaking news, BitTorrent, and copyright collide,” revealed a Danish study where 70% of the poll found piracy socially acceptable. In the music and movie industries, the decrease in value of content has caused a major shift in the revenue base. Large portions of revenue are now generated from advertising, publishing, and venue-based sales.Timothy Lee wrote an article for The Washington Post, entitled, “Think piracy is killing the music industry? This chart suggests otherwise.” In the article, he argued through a London School of Economics chart that revenues of the music industry actually increased from 1998 to 2011 despite contradictory complaints from the industry about devastating losses due to online piracy.
(London School of Economics Media Policy Project)
As large-scale creative industries restructure to accommodate fluctuating sources of revenue, small artists without the capacity for commercial outlet and security are also being affected by shifting perceptions of content theft. Enterprise engagement online has greatly expanded the capacity of small artists and craftsmen to share and sell their work, but has also proliferated access and blatant copying of their original work.
Creative content sharing sites like Tumblr enable users to take symbolic ownership of other artists and designers work without proper attribution. Less blatantly, Pinterest, a site where each user “pins” internet finds as photo links to their idea boards, includes a mechanism obligating reference to the origin through a link to the original source. As a frequenter of these sites and other blogs, I have observed mass market trends emerge from independent artists, anonymously make their debut in large-scale distributors’ window displays and front page banners. The culture of re-blogging, like music piracy, has transformed the way we think about creativity and the value of craft. If I DIY the exact same painted pattern on chair that I saw on my favorite designer’s blog, am I stealing the idea? What about when I post it as my own project on my blog? then sell it on my online store? And finally, what if I work for a wholesale company and decide to mass produce “my” patterned chair? No doubt, this happens. Even within Etsy, where you can “buy and sell handmade or vintage items, art, and supplies”, sweatshops in emerging market countries blatantly copy and resell popular items. This also occurs on a larger scale when wholesalers use Etsy as an outlet to blatantly copy content from independent artists.
In Bruce Nussbaum’s book, Creative Intelligence, he describes a new economic and cultural vision. “Indie Capitalism emphasizes the economic value generated by the creators of new products and services. It is an economic system that is driven by consumers and their preference for interaction with companies, providing In the chapter, Indie Capitalism, Nussbaum envisions a new form of capitalism driven by “innovation and entrepreneurialism”. Nussbaum poses social networks as one of the tenants of indie capitalism. He envisions the connections and transactions facilitated by “real and digital communities” as essential enablers of the economic model. Certainly digital communities enable people and businesses to make new connections. These new connections also leave entrepreneurs, vulnerable to manufacturers taking advantage of the smorgasbord of content across platforms.
Contrary to the ideal narrative of Nussbaum’s indie capitalist, I recently discovered a blog post from artist, Lisa Congdon. She is one of many small artists battling large companies that copy + paste their work. On October 16th of 2013, Congdon accused wholesale company Cody Foster of “[copying her] original work for use on holiday ornaments in their 2013 catalogs”. In fact, there is documentation of the company stealing from dozens of artists, aggregated by flickr user, IP Isn’t Free: http://www.flickr.com/photos/105498342@N02/. The company will buy from an Etsy vendor and then replicate and mass produce a virtually exact replica of the item. In contrast to the influence of artists on mainstream products through color, material, and composition, these cases are blatant copies of individual artist work. Cody Foster sold their products to companies like West Elm, Fab, and Anthropologie. Since Congdon’s story went viral, these companies have pulled the products and severed ties with the Cody Foster. A win for Congdon and her fellow artists, but at what tipping point will enough indie capitalists stand their ground and cause fear for copying wholesalers?
(Lisa Congdon “My Art was Stolen for Profit (and How You Can Help)” Oct 2013)
What about the countless other cases of intellectual theft? Yes, a fine line dwells in any creative field between applied inspiration and intellectual theft. Sometimes unintended copying happens, but the expectation should be transformation and innovation in a significant way. That is the basis of creativity and the seed of societal progress. This is the charge of Nussbaum’s indie capitalism; to drive innovation and engage more contributors within the system to realize their personal interest in innovative practices.
It is in the interest of consumers to use their economic power to encourage the expectation of innovation. Beyond consumer power, is it the entrepreneur’s responsibility to innovate beyond the threshold of large manufacturers’ rate of adoption? Will entrepreneurs become disenchanted with their practices as the compete with unethical companies pirating and underpricing their ideas? Perhaps current intellectual theft policies are sufficient, but enforcement is too costly in time and finances for an indie entrepreneur? Should we focus our efforts on increasing the rate of adoption of indie capitalist consumer habits among consumers? In this new form of capitalism, how will consumers continue to realize their economic influence on business ethics? Thoughts?