Intellectual Property: Core - Periphery Disparity Mater Dei Catholic High School Michelle Garcia and Sophia Jordan Purpose Intellectual Property and Piracy To explain intellectual property rights in a globalized music Intellectual property covers the ideas created by people industry, our study analyzes the intellectual property rights of including their inventions, writings, designs, and verbal ideas, Solomon Linda’s song within the perspectives of world whereas piracy is the copying and uncredited use of someone systems theory and spatial inequality. This song is currently known else’s ideas for their own benefit. The ease of access to as in Disney’s popular movie and musical technology has meant that over the years, piracy has become . more rampant. One of the main arguments in this case is who the song actually belongs to. Since Linda’s wife and daughter Linda’s Story signed away the rights, it gave the song rights to Abilene Music in 1982. As noted in Figure 4, Linda’s family was not literate Solomon Linda was born in 1909 in Zulu, . He grew and therefore did not know what they were signing. up illiterate but his song Mbube was written as if he was not. Linda Figure 5 then moved to Johannesburg and formed the group The Original Figure 6 Evening Birds (Figure 1). In 1939, The Original Evening Birds World Systems: Core vs. Periphery (Knox and Marston, 2016). (Knox and Marston, 2016). recorded Mbube with their producer Griffiths Motsieloa and by 1948 it had sold over 100,000 copies in the African region. The Social Progress Index (2017) South Africa Social Progress Solomon Linda's Family Figure 4 song was sent to the United States, where transcribed Identifying the spatial component of poverty or socioeconomic the song and gave it to his own band, . But while inequalities is crucial for human geography (Knox and Marston, Adult Literacy Rate Yellow – Score 94.60 – Rank 47/128 Linda and his wife were both illiterate. transcribing the song, he misheard "Uyimbube" as "Wimoweh" 2016). Seeger was a wealthy producer in the United States who which does not exist in the Zulu language. Not only did Seeger use took advantage of an impoverished population. This global One of eight children left school to work, but the song for his own benefit, but other companies such as Gallo business transaction takes place in what human geographers call Homicide Rate Red – Score 33 – Rank 124/128 he was murdered by gangsters. Record Company and Walt Disney Company used it as well. a world system. A world system is the interdependent global capitalistic system "This house, it was bare bricks," said Elizabeth. "No ceiling, no plaster, no The Linda family filed a lawsuit against linked by economic and political competition. Core countries are Availability of Affordable Housing Red – Score 37.27 – Rank 95/128 (Figure 2), but their case was not successful because Linda's those who control trade, have the most advanced technologies, and Electricity Red – Score 85.40 – Rank 86/128 furniture, just one stool, and one coal mother and daughter had unknowingly signed away the copyright and have high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Knox and stove." of the song to Abilene Music. Walt Disney Company acquired the Marston, 2016). On the other hand, peripheral countries do not Linda's family mostly went to bed have as advanced technologies, and overall, are underdeveloped rights to The Lion Sleeps Tonight in which Pumbaa and Timon Undernourishment Yellow – Score 5.00 – Rank 1/128 hungry and lived only on porridge and sang the song in the original movie in 1994 (Figure 7). However, with simple economies and with low GDP (Knox and Marston, chicken. Disney had already paid Abilene Music for the copyright, so 2016). Abilene Music was responsible for settling the lawsuit by paying Figures 5 represents the world at the time when Linda wrote and Child Mortality Rate Red – Score 40.50 – Rank 90/128 Two children died from malnutrition. Linda's family from February 2004 and onward (Griesel v. Disney, produced the song. At this time, South Africa was considered a 2004). peripheral region. Figure 6 represent the world 10 years after the Premature Deaths From Non- At age 38, Linda's daughter Adelaide Red – Score 574.30 – Rank 110/128 lawsuit was settled. At that time, South Africa was considered a Communicable Diseases died of AIDS. semi peripheral country. This slight change of classification means that Linda’s family had access to lawyers and a chance to Solomon Linda died at the age of 53 of Life Expectancy for 60 years Red – Score 16.55 – Rank 110/128 reach a higher economic status. But this conclusion is not fully kidney failure. plausible since South Africa’s society is severely divided based on ethnicity and economic class. Analysis: The Social Science of Poverty Conclusion

Figure 3 indicates South Africa is an upper middle-income Many factors affected the production of Linda's song, Mbube. country. But according to a World Bank study on poverty and Although it was popular in the United States, credit was not given. Figure 3 inequality, the majority of South Africans live in poverty and a Those who had mass produced the song had taken advantage of the few elite corporations manage South Africa’s wealth (Beaubien Linda family's lack of education in reading and writing. As a result, 2018). Looks are deceiving. Through newspaper articles and the song was passed down for many generations without the true court documents, there are many indicators of poverty, as noted knowledge of who actually created the song. Linda's family filed Figure 1 by the 2017 Social Progress Index, that can be understood and settled the case against one of the recording companies by (Figure 4). It is clear that Linda’s family lived in poverty as seen agreeing to a settlement of $1.2 million in 2004. In the case of (Malan, 2000) mainly through their low income. As a result, two of Linda’s Core-Periphery disparity, normally when events like Linda’s occur, eight children died from malnutrition and one died from AIDS it is seen more when periphery countries steal from core. But in the due to lack of treatment options. The restraints on the lower case of Linda’s story, a US corporation stole millions from a poor class left a large impact on families that are in similar situations South African family. Figure 6 to that of the Linda’s. References Figure 7

(Knox and Marston, 2016) Knox, P. L., & Marston, S. A. (2010). Places & Regions in Global Context: Human Geography (7th ed.). New York: Prentice Hall. Social Progress Index: Social Progress Index. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.socialprogress.org/?tab=2&code=ZAF A Cappella News. (2006, February 23). Retrieved from http://www.acappellanews.com/archive/001102.html Griesel v. Disney, The Anton Mosert CIP (High Court of South Africa 2004). Figure 8: The Lion King presented by Disney Movies. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://movies.disney.com/the-lion-king Hutchinson, L. (2017, August 08). The Story of Solomon Linda & The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh). Retrieved from http://performingsongwriter.com/lion-sleeps-tonight/ Acknowledgements Harvey, G. (2015, February 6). Story of a Song - The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Retrieved from https://simplymusic.com/story-song-lion-sleeps-tonight-2/ Malan, R. (2018, June 25). Inside the Long, Hidden Genealogy of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'. Retrieved from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/in-the-jungle-inside-the-long-hidden- genealogy-of-the-lion-sleeps-tonight-108274/ LaFraniere, S. (2006, March 22). In the Jungle, the Unjust Jungle, a Small Victory. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/22/world/africa/in-the-jungle-the-unjust-jungle-a-small-victory.html We would like to thank Mater Dei Science Academy for its influence in Reuters, F. (2006, February 18). `Lion Sleeps Tonight' copyright suit is settled. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2006/feb/18/entertainment/et-lionsong18 Definition of Piracy | What is Piracy ? Piracy Meaning. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/piracy creating our project. Also to Dr. Till and all her efforts in supporting this What is Intellectual Property? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/ Figure 2 project through it all. For use in Disney’s The Lion King, the song A Lion's Trail. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lionstrail/trail.html Figure 7 Farber, T. (2017, December 6). Read it and weep: SA kids struggle with literacy. Retrieved from https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-12-06-read-it-and-weep-sa-kids-struggle-with-literacy/ The Lion Sleeps Tonight made $15 million. Beaubien, Jason. “The Country With The World's Worst Inequality Is ...” NPR, NPR, 2 Apr. 2018, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/04/02/598864666/the-country-with-the-worlds-worst- (Griesel v. Disney, 2004). inequality-is. “The Lion King Presented by Disney Movies.” Disney Movies, Walt Disney Pictures , movies.disney.com/the-lion-king.

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