Here's my humble opinion. If someone were to rip from my demo DVD and demo it as their own, I wouldn't be so sure they can deliver the same results. Their lack of original footage doesn't prove to anyone (even themselves) they can create the same kind of video. It's like me stealing a photo from a website and using it for my own site... I have to actually provide what that photo shows to a customer. The first few pops in business and I'd be finished (pops being angry/disappointed customers).

-Michael

I realize what your saying here Joel, and I completely agree with you, but I have oftened wondered what it actually means to have work that is completely original. Short of being raised in a vacuum without the chance to constantly learn and absorb from our environment, whether we consciously want to or not, it is simply not possible to create something like this that is completely unique. Yes innovations do come, and new ideas arise, but those are part of a process, they build on those who have come before them, and they take elements from various other experiences, ideas, and parts of the environment. From a psychology background, or even just a scientific background, I really cannot understand how somebody could argue that their work is the sole product of themselves.

To put the split hair into perspective, here's a great quote from despair.com:

"Always remember that you are unique. Just like everybody else."

-Michael