At what point does my art cease to be my own?

After it leaves your head and is put onto a medium that can be seen and is experienced by any other person, the art is no longer your own.

Our problem with copyright is that we live in a world where you have to make money to live.
And so, we want to retain ownership for commercial reasons.

We also do not like other people using our images / media and saying it is their own.
This is sorta an ego thing and it is based on a world where lies are common-place and people want to look better in other people's eyes without putting in the hard work.

Both of these reason will be ... just plain gone in the next century, maybe even in the next 50 years.

The future, you will have your home (which is all paid for) and green house where you grow all your own food, a renewable source of energy and internets 3.0 ( i call it the interconnects.)

So, if you want to make art, you do so in your free time because you want to.
And one piece of art moves other people to make other art (sometimes derivative from your work)
This is the way art really works.
One inspiration causing another inspiration.

And one other piece is that it really is not your art.
The inspiration came from a higher source.
And that higher source can be tapped into by multiple people.

Many the times have i seen several people all invent the same things at the same time.
The Wright Brothers only beat a French guy by a couple of weeks for powered flight.