"Sideways" Copyright Laws
After reading the excerpt from Lessig's The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World, I'm reminded of how carried away our copyright laws can be.
Getting permission to use a song or a specific brand that is prominently displayed in a film is understandable. But the following is a perfect example of our legal system run amuck!
Completely ridiculous! Why don't artists and designers want their designs featured in films and magazines? I would make it as easy as possible to use my product or design in a film. Free publicity is just good business.
This reminds me of a story I saw on the news about the movie, Sideways. The relatively small film became a hit and revitalized the southern CA wine country that has long been over-shadowed by northern CA's Napa Valley. Fans of the movie from all over the world were traveling to Solvang, CA to buy "Sideways maps" so they could visit the wineries and restaurants featured in the movie. Small businesses all over were benefiting from the publicity they received from the movie. Tourists wanted the "Sideways experience" even down to the smallest detail. One restaurant owner said that business had boomed and there was high demand to sit at the exact table as the characters in the movie. Here's my question, did Sideways' production company ask for a cut of the profits these businesses received as a direct result of the movie?
Getting permission to use a song or a specific brand that is prominently displayed in a film is understandable. But the following is a perfect example of our legal system run amuck!
The film Twelve Monkeys was stopped by a court twenty-eight days after its release because an artist claimed a chair in the movie resembled a sketch of a piece of furniture that he had designed.
Completely ridiculous! Why don't artists and designers want their designs featured in films and magazines? I would make it as easy as possible to use my product or design in a film. Free publicity is just good business.
This reminds me of a story I saw on the news about the movie, Sideways. The relatively small film became a hit and revitalized the southern CA wine country that has long been over-shadowed by northern CA's Napa Valley. Fans of the movie from all over the world were traveling to Solvang, CA to buy "Sideways maps" so they could visit the wineries and restaurants featured in the movie. Small businesses all over were benefiting from the publicity they received from the movie. Tourists wanted the "Sideways experience" even down to the smallest detail. One restaurant owner said that business had boomed and there was high demand to sit at the exact table as the characters in the movie. Here's my question, did Sideways' production company ask for a cut of the profits these businesses received as a direct result of the movie?
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home