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| French Author, Priest, and Secretary Jean Miélot Writing |
Sabellico’s proposed work, Decades rerum Venetarum, was a history of Venice. His laborious efforts could have been published just like any other author’s, but this “was a form of reward…which promoted the public interest, rather than the inherent rights of the author” (Kostlyo). If any unauthorized entity published his book, they would be fined, and replication of it was illegal.
For our Renaissance friends, this measure was largely viewed as a wise business move, the authors being more concerned about protecting their work than necessarily claiming it. They pored over their work, doing extensive research with limited resources, then meticulously drafting it by hand before taking it to a publisher, often only to be hired to proofread and/or publish his own work (Kostylo). It was no easy task, making it clear why the author would want his/her work protected.
For many of us, an alarm goes off when we hear the word copyright; we usually hit ‘snooze’ and settle into our indifference to copyright and its complexities, yet there’s the occasional nag, warning us to tread carefully. It’s almost fitting, given twenty-first century culture. For our voices to be heard, we simply download an app, push a few buttons, and announce how we feel about homework. The process doesn’t begin to compare with what Sabellico surmounted. Author Roy Leeper pointed out that “copyright was the best means of encouraging the development of new knowledge that benefitted society,” suggesting that the very Renaissance ideals that inspired the invention of the printing press would in turn inspire more people to discover more ideas (emphasis added). Although copyright laws clearly exist and are enforced in many situations, would stricter policies, particularly regarding social media usage, promote originality and unearth golden ideas? If so, what possible ways would this be implemented?
Works Cited:
Kostylo, J. (2008) ‘Commentary on Marcantonio Sabellico's privilege (1486)', in Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
Leeper, Roy V. "Copyright." Encyclopedia of Public Relations, edited by Robert L. Heath, vol. 1, SAGE Reference, 2005, pp. 201-202. Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/apps/doc/CX3439100108/GVRL?u=byuprovo&sid=GVRL&xid=872b759a. Accessed 16 Sept. 2018.
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Copyright is definitely a tricky web to untangle. It's hard to say what that would mean for the digital community. It might be like the concept of pruning back a wild rose bush- initially very restrictive, but ultimately making it much more productive.
ReplyDeleteI really love this concept because when I think of "copyrights" I think of early 2000s era bands suing for illegal downloads from software programs like Napster. I never thought that copyright policies were being enforced in the Renaissance. It was important to brand the new perspectives being published at that time and even though we may think of social media as trivial, I believe that this is our "Renaissance" and
ReplyDeletethose who post are just as important as what they post. So yes, I think there should be stricter laws for copyright online.
Your evidence on copyright promoting (not limiting!) creativity is compelling; I hope you share this with our 21st century pirating peers. As the daughter of a patent paralegal, I've seen firsthand why copyright matters. Copyright not only protects the inventor or artist; it protects the patrons, too.
ReplyDeleteI love the quote you included in your post which says that “copyright was the best means of encouraging the development of new knowledge that benefitted society." In meditating for a few moments about the meaning of this, it is very profound! Often times we are annoyed with copyrights, as you stated. But the fact that we can protect our own work is a mechanism that motivates others to produce their own great work, since they can;t take the easy way out and steal someone else's work.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that copyright is a great method to use to promote more original ideas and creations. I do not, however think we currently need more legislation regarding the matter currently, nor do I think it needs to be more strictly enforced. Writers and artists have ample resources to protect their materials in this day and age from being plagerized as another's if they are proactive.
ReplyDelete