Originality is an illusion.

I mean it in the philosophical sense: it's certainly a thing one can experience, it's certainly a part of human reality, but it only lives and dies by human perception and interpretation. Kinda like "passage of time", or "free will".

In reality, though, no idea is "new" and "unique" in its purest sense. Everything is some sort of derivative and communal, because nothing can just pop into existence out of nowhere, that's not how the Universe past the Big Bang works. If you find some work or idea or invention "truly original" - that means you don't know enough about it. And it's fine! That's part of the magic, sit back, enjoy the show.

This, however, is why I find it a little bit ridiculous to treat ideas as private property. Which is what copyright basically is - it's a speculative construct based on illusion. The fact that it is becoming ever less enforceable, as technology marches on, is just the sign of that illusion crumbling around us.