ECOtotal :: invastion of intellectual property or aversion to an open source economy?

Earlier this month, Twentieth Century Fox was forced into the spotlight of the YouTube community when ECOtotal uploaded 4 pirated copies of Fox’s hit show “24.” Fox threatened Google to disclose the information [which will probably be no more than an avatar anyway].

Personally, I was a big fan of 24 and Bauer back in the early days, but had lost interest in the redundant plots and melodramatic sequences until this recent occurrence. How many times can disaster strike…really?! But all of a sudden, I have had an un-dieing urge to see these episodes that have sent shock waves through the media conglomerates…and I’m sure many other non-fans gained some interest. So really I believe Fox should be honored that 24 was hot enough to draw someone to bootleg it and risk prosecution.

But more than a begging us to take a second look at 24, this first high-profile pending litigation of Google/YouTube foreshadow numerous repeats unless Hollywood’s media conglomerates can learn to adapt to the shifting paradigms. I believe that the day of reckoning has come for the media giants…which I don’t think will be a bad thing. The days of premiers with high price tagged commercials will soon be long gone.

While I do think that the line between fraudulence and intellectual property will continue to be blurred, I doubt that arresting a broke college kid or career YouTuber will do little more than spawn backlash toward the network and fill YouTube will a barrage of parody videos. Many of the major media networks---as well as Hollywood---need to come up with a better strategy to dealing with web 2.0 than “whining to the principal.”

open space lab blog begins

After dragging our feet for many months, we are finally launching the open space lab blog. Here we will begin a dialogue about how the ideas of the open source movement and collective consciousness can begin to create a new paradigm for the design, art and architecture fields. We hope this discussion will help clarify ideas, our studio and become in a voice in the ever-growing realm of the OSM.

Currently, we are working on a exhibition, as well as an architecture project that begin to question the traditional notions of Authorship. Borrowing from Manuel DeLanda, “what matters about the Open Source Movement is not so much the intentional actions of its main protagonists, actions which are informed by specific philosophies, but its unintended collective consequences.” We hope that the results of our undertakings and this blog will take a small part in shaping these "unintended collective consequences."

We invite all to join in our discussion and help us determine how open source ethics can be applied to more analog disciplines like architecture and design.

open space lab