Nice…Try…Baby

The purpose of copyright, for me, should be the safety that a brilliant new idea or invention in any platform or medium, so that someone else with higher power or resources can gain wealth by stealing it. Now it seems that original warrant for ownership has turned into an obsessive and almost sad law that deprives people of their creative expansion on the new world.

I believe that if someone has an expansion or an idea that will benefit or heaven forbid improve the already published product, then why not try it. Obviously reference the maker, but that’s it. No contracts. No forever. An example doesn’t always have to be gaming, it can be an invention, or a work of art (music, painting, script). There’s an opportunity for all these examples to be kept up with the times of the growing technological future if they would be lenient and patient with peoples remixes of things. Movies are perhaps a little harder to align these points to, as they usually follow phases where people go in and out of entertainment, but why not. Include characters from an already made film as a cameo in another made 10-20 years later, and people are going to rave about it. It could spark a comeback for the original film, people already know its from the original but get excited when they are revisited.

Music is the main point I would like to put forward for discussion. Great makes of art in the music industry have been created, and which I understand needs to be protected, but as far as limiting emerging practitioners and artists to not being able to tinker and remix the pieces seems to negate what the purpose is altogether, which is reaching as many people as possible for as long as possible. The example I want to address is the copyright case of a decade, Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice, Baby” famous copyright infringement on Queen and David Bowie’s hit “Under Pressure”

The way “Vanilla Ice” explains himself is debatable because it’s almost uncanny how much of a resemblance this is to the “original” but what Bowie and Freddy Mercury don’t realise is that, personally, I’ve never heard of their original song “under pressure”, but have heard “Ice, Ice Baby” countless times. By researching this song further, people are alluded to their song. Obviously he didn’t recognise them as much as I think he should have, but the point stands that a 1982 song has rekindled it’s known amongst music audiences.

If this were done in a way that supports my argument, “Vanilla Ice” would have recognised the original song, and went along with the release of his remix or remake of it. I guarantee, with trends of today, the original would have been appreciated and even purchased as vintage value. Take Darude’s 2000 hit “Sandstorm”, it went quiet until recently DJ’s and producers at popular music festivals started playing it again as a remix to their set. He’s now rekindled his career and playing around the world at shows at the age of 40. Perhaps I’m wrong and people don’t want their products or art revisited by pop culture, until their name is lost.