Ramblings

Bloviating: to you, from me. Chide me if you will. algot@runeman.org

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Tue, 13 Oct 2009

Who Owns My Thoughts?

Copyright applies immediately as I post this blog entry to the Internet. As I understand the law, there is no requirement that I go through a registration process. Does that mean I own the ideas expressed by these words?

I don't think so. I am not egotistical enough to consider my thougts unique. It is probable that others are considering this exact issue during the moments I type. Having specific ideas "just for myself" might, at best, be appropriate for thoughts I wouldn't want to express anyway. If writing and posting is my goal, it makes sense that the things I say are suitable for others to consider. The written words might be important to somebody. It is unlikely, but possible. If an expressed idea catches attention of one other who passes it along to a couple of others who also pass it along, the idea has the potential to have impact. Unless the idea is spread, it might as well stay trapped within my skull, not written here.

Now, I understand that copyright doesn't give me ownership of the idea I have expressed in writing, just the specific expression: my selection of words, combined in sentences and grouped into paragraphs. Someone who recasts my thoughts into their own style isn't stealing anything. Copyright only prohibits someone from duplicating my exact expression, and doing so in an extended way. Copyright acknowledges fair use of my exact words for things like education, commentary, etc. Even then, most people understand that they should refer back to me as the source of the copied expression. Indeed, it is common to make "reference" so that my original work validates the writing of another which expands on it, explains it, or refutes it.

Ideas that stay in my mind alone, if they are unique, cannot benefit others. Such ideas, unexpressed, might give me joy, but only to me. Power of ideas really comes through thier expression, dissemination, adoption and implementation. Ideas gain in strength only if they attract attention from a bunch of people who think about and act on them. At best, my ideas will lead to my celebrity/fame/infamy. Attaching the idea to me is the work of others who point (refer) and say "This great/insane idea is his!"

The idea is more important than the expression, in the long run, anyway. Many of the most powerful ideas are the associated with religion. Strong beliefs are commonly religious and the more people who cluster around a particular religion, the more "power" it can exert. Adherents of a particular religion express tenets (important fundamental ideas) from texts that are officially recognized by the religious hierarchy. I believe that many of the most important of these ideas are essentially duplicates from one religion to another. Sharing common beliefs does not diminish the ideas, nor do the ideas break because they are held as important by groups who don't agree on everything. The shared ideas probably should be recognized as even more significant because they are shared. Sadly, it seems to me, religious groups seem to focus on the things that separate the groups instead of on the shared ideas.

The upshot of what this post says is: If you like what you read here, think about it, talk about it with others, expand upon it, enrich it with your own layered thoughts. I do not own the thoughts. They are only useful if I share them with you, and the ideas only have the chance to be powerful if they become widespread. Good luck.