What I find particularly interesting about the current debate on Intellectual Property is the fact that IP even exists.
If everyone gives their work away for the betterment of humanity, many people benefit. I have watched Open Clip Art Library (OCAL) grow for quite some time and it has a vibrant community based solely on sharing. Every piece of content is Public Domain. In the last week it’s received a massive influx of new users. STOP SOPA / PIPA David B Lyons / davidblyons SOPA and PIPA are real threats to the free and open Internet. Although recent media reports have suggested that the bills are losing support, they are not dead. On January 17th, SOPA's sponsor said the bill will be discussed and pushed forward in early February. PIPA could be debated in the U.S. Senate as soon as next week. There is a need to send a strong message that bills like SOPA and PIPA must not move forward: they will cause too much damage. Download, remix, and share the image from Open Clip Art Library http://openclipart.org/detail/167202/stop-sopa-by-davidblyons-167202
When the US government has a De Facto standard of copyright for all creative works in tangible form, there is an inherent hurdle to sharing.
Imagine a world where where that hurdle didn’t exist.
Learn more about SOPA, PIPA, and the Wikipedia Blackout.
Pete Ippel, the son of a dancer and a musician, was born in Oak Park, Illinois and has been surrounded by the arts since birth. He moved to Morris, Illinois in 1989 and started to participate in athletics rather than dance. After high school, Pete attended Cornell University where he received a BA in psychology and a BFA in photo / digital art making. He continued to follow his sporting dreams in the high jump, which culminated in a school record leap of 7 feet 1/2 inch in 2001.
In May 2004 he attained an MFA degree in the New Genres department of the San Francisco Art Institute. Presently Pete is a practicing artist whose work is in numerous private collections and has been exhibited in New York, California, and internationally.
Mr. Ippel resides in Working Artists Ventura, a sustainable artist community in southern California. In addition, he teaches art, is a web developer, an active blogger, and still high jumps from time to time.
As a passionate problem solver and a pragmatic optimist, Pete’s art and his life are full of exciting challenges.
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