Who owns the copyright?

Who else owns Demi Lavato's arm?
http://www.eonline.com/photos/6990/top-10-celebrity-tattoos-of-2012/238578

We've been studying copyright laws in my digital writing class, so when I saw this headline 

Whose Tattoo is it Anyway?

in the Maine Sunday Telegram on October 13, 2013, my interest peaked. Can artists own a body part of another person? Last year, tattoo artist, Stephen Allen sued Electronic Arts for using one of his designs on the cover of the video game, "NFL Street." Ok, it was more complicated than that. Allen's original design was tattooed onto the arm of running back Ricky Williams. That case was settled out of court, but copyright laws are getting more and more complex and the courts will sort it out. 

       I'd always thought copyright laws were to protect the financial interests of the producers, but I learned in Ken's quicktime movie that "In a democratic society, copyright is about protecting creativity and progress". I love this!

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said it best:

"The primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor of authors...but encourage others to build freely upon the ideas and information conveyed by a work."


Wow! this is new thinking for me. And  I found a wonderful 
TED talk that broke open the idea of protecting creativity and progress. Click the link below to hear Lawrence Lessig - my new hero:

I recommend Julie and Julia, not only to the foodies out there, but to people interested in seeing the startling difference in the world of publishing in the last fifty years. Of course, any fan of Meryl Streep has already seen it. Meryl didn't disappoint. In fact, she nailed the performance. Is the cook with David Letterman Meryl or Julia? You be the judge.

     Susan Corcoran wrote an excellent review of the film. It's posted on our Reflection #1. Check it out. I agree with Susan that today's authors are more willing to share their personal lives in any format. Maybe there are no secrets anymore. Another difference between old and new publishing is the time element. I'm writing this at 8:07 am and sending it out in the world within the half hour. Authors of the past spent years, even decades perfecting their work before sharing it. 

     However, at the heart of both stories was the stark truth: writing is hard. Hemingway said it best: “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”