Polls: Does Copying Hinder Innovation and Creativity?

The tech world eagerly watched the developments of a recent courtroom battle between electronics juggernauts Samsung and Apple. Highlighting the unfair tactics of both parties, a court in South Korea recently came to a verdict with anti-climatic results with punishments equating to trivial amounts. But one of the underlying issues and arguments was that copying puts a hindrance on innovation and creativity. Despite this being something heavily contested by Apple in the past, the Cupertino, California company has not missed a beat and come to represent one of the world’s most valuable and desirable brands. Technology aside, the same comparisons could be made to the fashion world in the battle of high vs. fast fashion and virtually any industry around. The term “good artists copy, great artists steal,” gets thrown around with ease in the creative realm, but at what point does it become truly detrimental? Or is it simply a case that the best will consistently rise to the top. To state the obvious, for small brands and companies, having their unique selling points ripped off by larger brands can be a death sentence given their limited resources. However, has the Internet effectively equalized this all providing a much more democratic platform for all to see? So the final question, “does copying hinder innovation and creativity?”

Looking back at our last poll in which we asked, “Snoop Dogg vs. Snoop Lion,” the majority of people at 68.8% of the vote would preferred Snoop Dogg and his previous persona, while 31.1% preferred the new Snoop Lion approach.