The highly regarded British play “Frozen,” comes very much from an article written seven years ago by Malcolm Gladwell, staff writer for The New Yorker. His piece was about a New York psychiatrist who studies serial killers, and the playwright borrows entire sentences from the magazine, in her play about a New York psychiatrist who studies serial killers.
Gladwell’s first thought was that it was a straightforward case of plagiarism but the more he thought about it, the more he started questioning the whole idea of artistic ownership. Who, after all, owns words? He joins us to talk about the difference between ideas and expression, thievery and flattery.
Guests:
Malcolm Gladwell, Staff Writer for The New Yorker
Justin Hughes, Professor of Intellectual Property at Cardozo Law School in New York City