ewic_evac18_paper8.pdf (401.47 kB)
Download filePatented patterns: On the art and science of patterns. A critical inquiry.
The present paper proposes a critical reflection on the existing relationship between patterns,
algorithms and their patentable status. Based on a series of legal actions related to the use of
patterns (Robert Lang against Sarah Morris, Mexican indigenous peoples against Isabel Marant,
Apple patent on some gestures, etc.) it will analyse the already existing legal interpretations of what
a pattern is and will discuss in which way these cases can establish a precedent for today’s
digitalized environments. Defined both as form of stylistic and cultural expression, as well as logical
forms, patterns are becoming elements of high importance for the present digital modelization
technologies (see, for example, pattern recognition algorithms). Therefore, the legal status of a
pattern is becoming a field of political battle. Notions like author and collective author, cultural
tradition and logical form, creative commons and intellectual property are at stake in this context.
The implications are of social, political and economic importance and this paper will sketch out some
of the short-comings when it comes to their use and application, their implicit ideologies, as well as
arts and sciences disciplinary divisions.
History
School
- The Arts, English and Drama
Department
- Arts
Published in
Electronic Visualisation and the Arts EVAC Copenhagen 2018Citation
HEINZEL. T., 2018. Patented patterns: On the art and science of patterns. A critical inquiry. Presented at the Electronic Visualisation and the Arts: Politics of the Machines - Art and After, (EVAC). Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark, 15 - 17 May 2018Publisher
© the Authors. Published by BCS Learning & Development LtdVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Publisher statement
This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Publication date
2018Notes
This is a conference paper.Publisher version
Language
- en