Original Works

I found the article quite interesting and want to discuss a few of the points raised by Lamb. I think that many of us would, if asked to define this concept of "original works," likely invoke a notion of individual authorship/ownership (though there are certainly examples where we could think of that authorship/ownership as group-based). However, Lamb suggests that the devaluation of derivatives--"degraded" copies of an original work--is misguided in the sense that it ignores the way in which creative work has always reused, recycled, and remixed other prior creations. If one accepts this claim, it is only a short leap to a definition of "original work" that acknowledges that creative production always, in some sense or the other, incorporates or builds upon other artistic/scholarly genres and traditions. If forced to define "original work," I would tend to side with something like Lamb is suggesting. As he notes, the remix effect is only multiplied as reproductive technologies proliferate and engage an ever-wider group of creators and consumers.