Jason - Could $5,000,000 make you cringe? How money can help us measure value.

Question: Let's play the same game that we did in class (with the photograph and the exact copy), but let's pretend that we're at an auction and the two pieces are going up for sale. How would you feel if both were sold for the same amount? How would you feel if the copy was sold for more (because it's, you know, witty and "modern")?

To make things more concrete, let's say that the copy sold for $5,000,000. 

Whether or not you think that's a little too much, the second you make that judgment call, you're doing something really interesting: you're placing a relative value on the copy.

Spending money is all about choosing. When you spend something on X, it's because you think X is more important than acquiring Y (so when you buy a loaf of bread instead of giving your money to a charity, you're choosing your own livelihood over the charity). Likewise, when you see someone pay five million dollars for a copy, something in your brain might be saying -- that money could be used to save lives in an impoverished country, and it's outrageous that a copy be valued that much.


The difference between this copy and what Jessie was talking about (taking photographs) is that most photography brings artistry to a piece (via an interesting perspective or some other technique). The remixes that Lessig values are the ones that bring new life to the original (by chopping it up or changing it in some way). The difference between appropriation and stealing is that appropriation brings this new value.

For me, the copy is not sufficiently different from the original to warrant any protection from the law. In fact, this isn't even creative thievery. I'm not sure when the copy was made, but if a Xerox machine existed before it was created, the idea behind making the copy is hardly unique! (Doesn't this bother anyone else!)

Here's a link to a famous remix of the Pixar Movie: Up -- really cool, and a great example of bringing new life to a piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2yt1ooLQGo