COPYSHOP KNOXVILLE now open!

COPYSHOP KNOXVILLE is now open!

COPYSHOP in Knoxville is the first official franchise of COPYSHOP, a project initiated by Superflex and Copenhagen Brains. COPYSHOP is operated in Knoxville, Tennessee by The Art Gallery of Knoxville.

[img]http://copy-shop.org/knoxville/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/freebeer33.jpg[/img]

Visit the online store:
http://copy-shop.org/knoxville/products

COPYSHOP is a place where you can copy everything. In COPYSHOP you will find products that challenge intellectual property. They can be modified originals, improved copies, political anti-brands - or a SUPERCOPY as the new original.

Furthermore, COPYSHOP will function as a gathering point and network for a diverse group who share a critical view on intellectual property.

COPYSHOP presents the opportunity and means to effectively participate and share authority. COPYSHOP intends to enable the self-affirming expression of experiences mediated by the history, language, and traditions of an independent group. COPYSHOP enables those who have been marginalized economically and culturally to claim, in both respects, a status as fully participating members of a community.

Background

“Intellectual property is the oil of the 21st century”
- Mark Getty, american businessman and grandson of the oil tycoon J. Paul Getty

“Mans culture and technological development as we know it, is intrinsically connected to the free and unlimited right to copy”
- Morten Skriver, artist

“There has never been a time in history when more of our “culture” was as “owned” as it is now. And yet there has never been a time when the concentration of power to control the uses of culture has been as unquestioningly accepted as it is now”.
- Lawrence Lessig, lawyer and writer.

Intellectual property in the form of copyright, licenses and patents has an increasing importance on society - and for what we say, where we say it, and to whom we say it to. The right over ideas maintains the status quo within the current economic order.

The last 10 to 20 years has seen an exponential rise in the extent of intellectual property. This is due to the economy of globalisation and to the spread of information technology.

The fundamental legal concept is as follows: ‘if value then right’, or, to put it another way, ‘where there is economic value there is intellectual property’. This expansion has caused different reactions. For example from the Open Source movement where the ownership of code hindered the best possible development of software. This caused, among other things, the operating system linux. In Brazil state sanctioned infringements of intellectual property has enabled the production of cheaper HIV medicine.

We want to confront this development and produce, promote and sell products that challenge the concept ‘If value then right’.

COPYSHOP is initiated by Superflex and Copenhagen Brains

The Art Gallery of Knoxville is dedicated to new and emerging Art.
It is an open space to cultivate ideas of Art and social engagement.