Conner

The video about the sampling of “Amen Break” was very interesting to me. I have heard about the piece of music before and I find the whole concept of sampling music important to more than just the music world.  The narrator of the youtube video, Nate Harrison, does a good job of explaining how this one piece of music infiltrated the culture of the music world.

I liked the fact that The Winstons were not ever interested in suing anyone for the use of the piece. It may have been because the piece was used by so many so quickly and it was just too late to take action. I have seen a documentary on sampling music before and I am not sure if it is the one posted but I do understand the argument on the issue. I know that the record companies started to crack down on sampling and that it caused a big rift in the production part of the industry. To me the whole example of sampling is really just a microcosm of copyrighting today.

Rounded Corners

Recently, Apple won a major lawsuit against Samsung over the design of the iPhone vs. Samsung’s smartphones. The U.S. awarded Apple 1 billion dollars in damages for the copyright infringement Samsung underwent through the design of their phones.  It is important to note that as of today South Korea (where Samsung is headquartered) and Germany are two countries that sided with Samsung and dismissed the claims Apple had. These two markets are not as important as the U.S. cell phone market but, it may make someone question the U.S. ruling. Personally, I think it is atrocious that Apple won this case. I think it is a horrible path for this country to go down. Nate Harrison in the 6 second loop video mentioned how some people believe that copyright laws hinder and inhibit innovation. My issue is that I do think what Apple is doing is wrong. For one, they are the most valuable company on the planet and they really do not need the money. They also need to worry less about their competitors and more about how they can come out with the iPhone 10 in a few years. I mean are they really that creative anymore?

Although I may not be the biggest fan of Apple, I am a fan of Google. A few weeks ago, David Lawee, the VP of corporate develoment for Google was qouted as saying “We didn’t really believe rounded corners were patentable.” http://www.bgr.com/2012/09/11/google-patent-dispute-apple-samsung/ I understand Lawee. It is hard to think that something so simple is patentable. I remember my first flip cell phone and the corners were rounded. It was a flip phone so it was different than the touch screen iPhone but to me there is little difference. It just seems trivial to try and hold intellectual property on something so simple. And honestly, it is somewhat of the same thing for sampling music. I can only imagine how many songs have been made throughout time that used tunes or sounded very similar to past songs. Sometimes it may be subliminal and sometimes it may be on purpose but I am of the belief that it can happen totally on accident. There is so much access to technology that allowd people to make music or hear it. That wasn’t the case 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 etc. Technology has gotten better and so has the spread of the ability to create.

And now we go back to Samsung and Apple. Samsung is now suing Apple for copyright infringement on the iPhone 5. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/samsung-sues-apple-iphone-5_n_1899549.html This is fun. Maybe they will just go back and forth like this for years. I’m not keen  on legal proceedings but I want to know if any of the money awarded to whomever wins, pays the court. If these trials go on forever I really hope that someone has to pay the U.S. judiciary system that isn’t a tax payer. I honestly don’t think that is the case which is also atrocious.

Back to Google

One of the co-founders of Google and graduate of Dematha High School (shout out to the WCAC) recently spoke about Apple and Facebook and how he sees the way they run their business. Sergey Brin discussed how he thinks those two companies are hurting innovation in the technology world. Here is a link to the article: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57414316-93/googles-sergey-brin-facebook-and-apple-a-threat-to-internet-freedom/ His company is a business rival to both of these companies but his comments are most likely based in truth. Many people will agree that when dealing with Apple, its their way or no way. Brin thinks that the way Facebook and Apple function is hurtful to the future of innovation and he fears that more companies will act like them. The one thing he says that sticks out about the companies is this: “You have to play by their rules, which are really restrictive. The kind of environment that we developed Google in, the reason that we were able to develop a search engine, is the web was so open. Once you get too many rules that will stifle innovation”

This could be the path the technology industry is headed down. Even companies like Google have too much control. What will change in the future?