ramen copyright

On 30-August, Jennifer Granick wrote an analogy in Wired News that ties together Ramen sales and the RIAA's crack-down on guitar tabs. An excerpt:

They'd form an association -- say, the Ramen Industrial Alliance of Asia, or RIAA -- and announce a clampdown on the proliferation of infringing noodle shops. Their arguments would echo the music industry's. "The chefs who created ramen deserve to get paid for their creation," they'd say. "These noodle shops are taking profits away from the creators, while peddling an often-inferior product to an unsuspecting public that believes they are getting real ramen."

Although I disagree with her arguments that "ramen-copyright" and "guitar tab-copyright" are the same, I concur that guitar tabs are in no way a threat to the original composers. Once upon a time it was a complement to have your original work arranged for a new type of musical group.

(Link)