Clarity on Copyright: The Purpose of Copyright Law – It’s Not What You Think
August 16, 2010
In the digital age with the almost frictionless ability to reproduce audio, video and text the issue of copyright has entered the mainstream in a big way. No longer the rarified domain of intellectual property attorneys, copyright issues make the news with the regularity of the latest RIAA lawsuit over the unauthorized sharing of music files and the current sturm and drang over Wikileaks posting of the Afghan War Diary.
It seems people only remember the first half of Stewart Brand’s famous pronouncement in 1987, “Information wants to be free. Information also wants to be expensive . . .That tension will not go away.” In 1984 at the first Hackers Conference, Brand put it in a more nuanced way:
“On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it’s so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other.”
Thanks to the good folks at TechDirt for linking to this excellent article by attorney and associate professor Lydia Pallas Lorn of Northwestern’s School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, The Purpose of Copyright Law.
Copyright and patent law derives from a clause in the US constitution and “the primary purpose of copyright is not, as many people believe, to protect authors against those who would steal the fruits of their labor,” according to the author. The purpose of copyright is “to promote the progress of knowledge and learning.”
Pallas Loren traces the origin of this concept from English common law and the early publishing industry to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 and beyond. I believe this is essential reading for anyone who creates content today – from the lowly blog scribe all the way up to Lady Gaga. Understanding copyright is necessary and Lydia Pallas Loren lays it all out clearly and definitively, in my opinion.
I wish the web contained more writing of this quality and thoughtfulness and less gossip, opinions, trivia and noise about disposable celebrities and manufactured scandals. ” ‘Tis of no importance what bats and oxen think.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
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Colorful Currency Worldwide from COLOURlovers
May 21, 2010
I’ve pulled your coat to the good folks at COLOURlovers before and here’s a wonderful selection of world currency employing a rainbow of color palettes, click here to see them all.
Design Inspiration: Over 500,000 Vintage Ads and Vintage Covers FREE!
May 5, 2010
The web has always been full of resources to help inspire good design, but never more so than presently. I’ve just come across two sister sites that are great for inspiration: a collection of over 100,000 vintage print ads and 450,000 plus covers from books, magazine and comic books.
So if you’re stuck for a new angle of approach for your current design project, or you just want to stroll through a digital history of ads and covers from the past Vintage Ad Browser and Cover Browser are your portals to over a half million designs at a price every designer can afford: FREE!
20,800 FREE Online Training Videos from VTC
April 20, 2010
By now Lynda.com has established itself as one of the premiere online sites for video training and tutorials. But they are not alone in this space. VTC Online & CD Computer Software Tutorials offers training in everything from Animation & 3D to Game Design & Development to Networking & Security.
The great thing about VTC is that they have over 20,000 FREE tutorials for you to check out. So if you’re looking to brush up on your skills or want to explore some new software prior to purchase, this a great site to explore.
55 High Resolution Photoshop Brushes from Colorburned
April 14, 2010
I love getting new brushes, layer styles and actions for Photoshop. The good folks over at Colorburned offer a selection of 15 high resolution PS brushes for creating moldy paper effects, here. Then, in a burst of generosity they throw in 40 high resolution ‘streak of light’ effect brushes here.
21 Hi-Res Smoke Brushes for Photoshop
March 15, 2010
If only there was a site that specialized in offering high quality, high resolution brushes for Photoshop that were totally free. . .If only it was just a click away. . . that would be so cool. If there was such a great resource like that, I’d probably link to it right here.
Best Practices Workflow for PDFs from Ghent PDF Workgroup
March 9, 2010
If you use PDFs like I know you do, you need the information on this web site. From their home page:
The Ghent PDF Workgroup (GWG) is an international assembly of industry associations, vendors and experts; whose goal is to establish and share process specifications for best practices in graphic arts workflows. We are pleased to offer here, at no cost; specifications, setup files, test suites, white papers, and other educational information that support the efforts of the international graphic arts community.
Creating an Elegant Web Layout in Photoshop Tutorial from [Re]Encoded.com
February 27, 2010
That ain’t workin’
That’s the way you do it
You make your website
With the Photoshop
—with apologies to Dire Straits
There are a lot of sources for information on using your Photoshop skills to create an impressive website. Here’s one that I think combines a great design sense with a patient, intelligent, step-by-step approach.
But this is just a small sample of the great material you find on the [Re]Eencoded.com site. Sections on Search Engine Optimization, Aesthetics, Graphics, Inspiration and many more Tutorials are available. Go there to learn or to be inspired. Highly recommended site!
Photoshop: Little Known Tips, Tricks & Techniques
January 21, 2010
We love the folks at Smashing Magazine online. Here they provide a great listing of shortcuts for Photoshop CS4 that even Adobe doesn’t tell you about, “Obscure Photoshop Time-Savers.”
BEFORE ROMERO: Joe Simon & Jack Kirby’s zombies from All Winners #1, Summer 1941
December 28, 2009
Click on image for larger size. The bottom 2/3 of page 8 of Captain America and the Case of the Hollow Men.
“How to kill a dead man? That was the horrible problem which CAPTAIN AMERICA and BUCKY had to solve before they could defeat the hideous menace who was the lord of death . . .”