Hey gang!
Drex here from DrexFactor.com and today I
wanted to talk a bit about something that
can be kind of a sensitive issue in the flow
arts world and for good reason: who owns what?
There’s a debate that comes up on a not-infrequent
basis about what if any form of ownership
someone who invents a trick is entitled to.
Do people get to own tricks?
Do they get to tell other people what they
can and cannot use in performances or workshops?
Let’s a deeper look.
Before we dive in, I just want to take a moment
to give a shout out to the friends of the
channel!
Big thanks to Dark Monk, Emazing Lights, Flowtoys,
Spinballs, and Ultra Poi for helping to make
the videos on this channel possible.
You can visit them all on the web by following
the links down in the description of this
video.
Let’s start off with two things that I think
are really important to acknowledge:
The first is that people work really, really
hard on the things that they create.
It’s inevitable that with that work there’s
a sense of ownership that takes hold.
It’s hardest to do things for the first
time but once that wall is broken down it
makes it vastly easier for the next person
to come through.
I don’t think it’s bad to have that feeling
of pride in the work you’ve invested into
what you create.
The second is that the landscape of the flow
arts world has changed dramatically in the
past two decades.
It’s no longer practiced in isolated pockets
but is now a worldwide network that embraces
people of many different backgrounds.
A huge reason why this has happened is that
in many cases the work that we create with
our tools is created with the framework of
a somewhat open source model of sharing.
Many people care more about getting the things
they create to the eyeballs of people who
might like or learn from it far more than
they care about how they might use it.
And this attitude has helped the community
to grow.
So with all that said, I think in the realm
of intellectual honesty it’s really, really
hard to say that any one of us have invented
something whole cloth.
The things we work on are frequently inspired
by the work of others, whether it be other
peoples’ tricks or unrelated natural or
artistic achievements.
So claiming sole ownership of the products
of said inspiration can be a little tricky.
That said, that’s a problem of intellectual
property in general.
At one point does a derivative work become
something that’s considered original enough
for the ownership of it to count?
Shaun White may be the only snowboarder in
the world who can execute a double McTwist,
but that doesn’t mean that any other snowboarders
can be sued for learning the trick or even
using it in competition.
In a lot of ways that open source mentality
not only creates an abundance of content for
people coming into the art to learn, but also
becomes an incentive for people at the forefront
of it to continue to practice and hone their
craft.
In order to stay relevant, you need to keep
on updating your repertoire.
At the same time, it creates opportunities
for exploitation.
Let’s say you’re an up-and-coming poi
spinner who’s created an exciting new move
that you can’t wait to teach at the flow
festivals.
Then you discover a more well-known spinner
has picked up that move from your videos and
is offering classes in it themselves.
You might lose out on a chance to teach, despite
the hard work you put into mastering your
craft.
Ouch.
Part of what brought this up for me was a
conversation with a friend who is wrestling
with this very type of situation...made more
acute by the fact that she’s a woman and
the people snatching gigs from her are guys.
And this is one of those twists on the whole
situation that definitely begs the question
of what do we do when people in a position
of power exploit the work of people who are
not?
Is there any way to protect them without compromising
a value that’s a big factor in helping the
community grow?
So...my honest answer is that I don’t know.
I’ll say straight up that in my own opinion
I’ve never invented a move.
Everything I’ve ever made videos on has
been inspired by something I saw someone else
do or running an equation or tweaking variables.
I would not have access to any of those things
had someone else not done the groundwork on
them.
Whenever possible, I try to credit the person
I learned a trick from when I’m teaching
it.
That may not be the person who first performed
it, but it’s honoring not just the move
but the teacher, which to me is just as important.
And of course there have been glaring oversights
because of this.
People I’ve either forgotten to credit or
others who felt like they were entitled to
it.
The best I can say is that I’m sorry and
I’m doing the best I can.
Part of the problem is that in general I think
that enforcement of any kind of intellectual
property rights here is pretty difficult if
not impossible.
I think that it’s important that we have
a culture of open sharing--it gives people
coming into this community room to grow and
learn new things.
But I also think it’s up to those of us
who aggregate all this information to be responsible
with it.
I think for now that’s the best we can do…
Thanks so much for watching.
If you got anything out of this video, please
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do, please go to patreon.com/drexfactorpoi.
Thanks again and peace!
