Creative Writing Group Forum Imitation and Copying, highway..

All these are sayings and well-thought-out conventional laws on the trivial and often thorny subject of copy and imitation. Bad as it may seem, imitation or copy is not bad in its entirety. This might have led the famous abstract painter, Pablo Picaso, to suppose that “ ..good artist copy, great artist steal” . Drawing from his avant-garde abstract paintings, it is hard to nail direct copying as it were. It is evident that he was heavily inspired by African forms but, by and large, he synthesized his subjects to achieve unique pieces. He actively relooked his subjects and conveyed them in new dimensions of reality. By doing so, he created the “original” through copying. One can only make out from his practice that imitation is not bad if it can be a leeway to broader perception of reality.

Product launches are opportunities for firms to have a sneak-peak from their competitors. This is a strategy that corporations use to gain an upper hand in the market. Whilst some use this as an occasion to copy, others use it positively to identify niches for even greater innovative products and services. This could not have been better set out than what Jack Ma said that “you should learn from your competitor but never copy. Copy and you die” We learn by way of imitation but our identities remain unchanged. In every experience we ought to follow practices worthy incorporating to our identities. Confucius reckoned that “.. by three methods we learn wisdom……imitation, which is easiest; and…..experience, which is the bitterest.” There is disclaimer, though, on imitation in that one ought to be careful not to copy mistakes.

Recently, we witnessed multi-billion law suits arising from infringement of copyrights such as one between Apple and Samsung. The underlying issue here being “copy”, Period! Funny as it may seem, the rounded corner of their smart phones was the sticking point. When did such a minute feature as rounded corner down spiral to such an expensive court case? One can easily deduct the reason being the large amount of money involved in smart phone industry that could prick executives to squander billions of dollars in a wasteful case.

How then should we copy or imitate in our endeavor to create stuffs? We should copy smart and with open eyes. Researching on the issue at hand, synthesizing it with a keen obsession for identity. Introspection into ones innate wishes and aspiration as Steve Job puts it that “design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service”.  Unpredictably, Imitation and Originality appear to be interlinked in the human brain. In any case, effort is what that makes the difference!