Navigating Originality in the Digital Age: Impacts on the Creative and Cultural Industries

The chapter explores the transformative impact of digital technologies on creativity, replication, and intellectual property (IP). The democratization of creative tools and platforms has vastly expanded the scope of creative output, challenging traditional notions of originality and complicating IP rights enforcement. Digital content's ease of replication raises issues of plagiarism and unauthorized copying, blurring lines between original and derivative works and straining existing IP frameworks. The culture of remixing further complicates these challenges, necessitating a rethinking of IP laws and practices to align with digital society's values. The chapter analyzes the main copyright issues, highlighting the difficulties of protecting original work in a digital environment where content can be swiftly copied and shared globally. Enforcement of copyright across jurisdictions is inconsistent, complicating efforts to uphold creators’ rights. The role of user-generated content platforms and emerging technologies like blockchain in managing copyright issues is examined, revealing both potential solutions and persistent challenges. Furthermore, the chapter investigates creators’ perspectives on digital innovation, particularly the adoption of AI and advanced software in content creation. While these tools offer new opportunities for efficiency and creativity, they also pose significant risks related to IP protection, originality, and ethical use. The chapter underscores the importance of trust in digital platforms, emphasizing transparency, robust data protection, and clear terms of service to foster acceptance among creators. Finally, an empirical study on travel guide writers’ perceptions of AI in content creation is presented. It examines how perceived benefits, risks, and ethics influence the acceptance of AI technologies. The findings reveal that while perceived benefits and ethical considerations positively affect acceptance, perceived risks negatively impact it. The study's insights guide the development of AI tools that are not only technologically advanced but also ethically sound and aligned with the needs of content creators in the travel and hospitality industry.