Copyright Katcontest - And the winners are ...

Roses are red, Violets are blue, 
Copyright is ...

The quick Katcontest launched last Wednesday to select two young copyright enthusiasts to attend the forthcoming London Copyright and Technology Conference for free attracted more than 40 entries from gifted poets, both under 33 (eligible for the competition) and over 33 (eligible for some poetry-related fun), who completed the following stanza in truly original and amusing ways:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Copyright is ...

It was not easy to pick the winners, although eventually a decision had to be made.

Well, the two enthusiastic copyright lovers who will attend the Conference for free are 23-year-old Aislinn O'Connell, a PhD student at University College London, and 30-year-old Dominik Niedersüss, an LLM student at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Centre.

Aislinn O'Connell

Aislinn's poem reads as follows [and, suggests Merpel, is also useful to revise latest copyright developments]:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Copyright is almost dead?
Google says you need to get a clue.

So copykat copykat where have you been,
I've been on limewire downloading some Queen.
And copykat copykat what else is there?
I'm waiting to see who'll take the hub chair.

So I and the copykat sail the copyright sea,
In a beautiful pea-green hub,
We'll need some funding and plenty of bonding
Wrapped up with an industry club.
And I looked up at the Hadopi tent
And sang to the stars of its sad end
O Hadopi, Hadopi, a sad lament
Notice and takedown letters, should we send?
Should we send?
Should we send?
Notice and takedown letters, should we send?

Copykat said to me, oh foolish PhD,
Graduated response is not the only way.
Come to this conference and don't let us be ring fenced,
Into new legislation this day.
So we sailed the sea, to arrive at C&T,
In the land where the lawyers do dwell.
And there in the woods, a solution was stood,
Copyright wrapped up in a bow,
A bow,
A bow,
Copyright wrapped up in a bow.

But what could it be, this solution so twee,
Which would solve all our copyright issues?
One might even see a lawyer or three,
Reaching out to grab hold of some tissues.
The end of their age, their business, their wage!
Would such a solution send them all home?
Well for you to see, your invitee should be me!
And in return, I'll give you this poem,
This poem,
This poem,
In return I'll give you this poem.

I should of course say, this is all hyperbole,
You lawyers need not fear for your jobs,
Because hey diddle diddle,
Copykats dance to the IPO's fiddle,
The industries jump over the moon.
The pirates laugh to see such fun,
And are fed free content with a spoon.

Dominik Niedersüss

And this is Dominik's poem:

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Copyright is like catnip,

I’ll take all I can chew,

Until foamy white goo

forms all-around my lips,

With my mother-dear yelling

            Stay clear of these TRIPS! 

Congratulations to Aislinn and Dominik for their greatly appreciated creative efforts!

As mentioned, the Katcontest attracted a number of great entries. In particular, this Kat enjoyed the following poems:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

[If] Copyright is dead,

Who’ll pay my account due?

--Dorothea Thompson, Trainee Solicitor, Davenport Lyons

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Copyright is everywhere, so if there is no private copying exception, what can I do?

--Pedro Malaquias, LLM candidate, Queen Mary, University of London

Roses are red, 

Violets are blue, 

Copyright is to artists, 

Swiss cheese to fondue, 

Or a cartoon panda 

to dreamworks kung fu 

but be weary I warn you,

for Infringe on this poem, 

and you may risk a suit....

--Hazel Brayden

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Copyright is free

Till you have to sue

--Claire Morgan, Associate, Lee Bolton Monier-Williams

Among those who were not eligible for the competition, this Kat particularly enjoyed these entries:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

“Copyright is a shambles”,

IPKat plaintively mews.

--Cam Gatta, Redd Solicitors LLP, “a true copyright lover” who does “not behave like a 34yo”

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Copyright is something that you can overdo
The benefit to society
defies all propriety
Can't it be replaced with something anew?

--Ashley