Essay on Critical Annotated Bibliography
Today, the copyright law is one of the most controversial issues because, on the one hand, the copyright protects intellectual property rights, while, on the other hand, the emergence of information technologies and modern telecommunication systems have opened new opportunities for creative work of people using materials legally protected by the copyright. In this regard, it is possible to refer to the documentary A Remix Manifesto directed by Brett Gaylor.
Before the presentation of the documentary, Brett Gaylor encourages people to do more remixes from the movie and, thus, to make his idea of the new concept of the copyright come true. The emotional appeal of the director to the audience can be traced throughout the documentary as Gaylor persuades the public that the traditional copyright law is outdated and he attempts to present the existing legislation as the copy RIGHT suggesting moving to the copy LEFT that means that copyrights should become more liberal. In fact, he is a proponent of creative commons since the documentary is created on the ground of contribution of many people and the director explores the contemporary concept of the copyright and how it should be changed to meet the modern cultural and technological environment.
To make his message more persuading, Gaylore refers to the authority of renowned activists, journalists, and other reputable people, who stand on the similar ground for creative commons and changes of the modern copyright law. The appeal to the authority of renowned people is a useful device that helps to gain the support of the audience and persuade viewers that his vision of the copyright is basically right.
To defeat any possible argument of his opponents, Gaylor appeals to the logic and reason of the audience by referring to the case of Jammie Thomas, a single mother making $36,000 a year, who was ruled to pay off $222,220 in damages for making 24 songs available for download on the Kazaa file-sharing network. The audience can hardly keep from being sympathetic in relation to Jammie Thomas and may believe the payoff is too high.
In such a way, Gaylor steadily but logically leads the audience to the only possible conclusion that the law, including the copyright law, should distinguish the copyRIGHT represented by corporations and the copyLEFT represented by free creative communities. The director concludes that people have the right to realize their creativity and publish their creative works freely within the public domain.
In fact, the argument of Gaylor is logical and reasonable as well as it is emotional. However, he apparently tends to stand for the copyLEFT but he also tends to underestimate the risk of misusing the concept of creative commons and other ideas related to his concept of copyLEFT, which implies free individual creativity in the public domain. In a long-run perspective, the refusal from the traditional copyright law and the shift toward public creativity, or creative commons, or whatever, leads to the violation of the intellectual property rights of individuals and companies because whatever intellectual property that goes public will be unprotected by the copyright anymore.
Thus, A Remix Manifesto is the documentary that raises an important issue of the change of the copyright and the emerging conflict between the right of individuals to creativity in the public, open domain, and the protection of intellectual property rights.
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