Jaszi: DMCA left us somewhat bruised; the next time we set
out to do something useful, we asked what could be done without requiring
congressional authority? Go back to
1991, when film scholar Kristin Thompson was prominent in the Society for
Cinema Studies—membership consisted almost exclusively of film scholars who
wanted to write monographs and articles doing close analysis of movies, most of
them commercial, and were being told by publishers that they couldn’t
illustrate w/stills from films under discussion w/o © clearance. Movie studios had one of three answers: (1)
we don’t know who has the rights; (2) go away; (3) licensing fee that was
practically impossible to pay. Many
articles were published w/o illustrations or with line drawings to suggest characteristics
of frames under discussion. SCS decided that
it had had enough of this and assembled a blue ribbon committee of
distinguished scholars to write a document about why what we want to do with film
stills is fair use. Published in an
issue of their journal, sent offprints to publishers, gave them to scholars to
give to publishers—and the practice changed. All the publishers needed was a
nudge toward doing the right thing, a reason to feel higher level of security
about self-evident proposition that scholars should be able to use relevant
illustrations. That niche changed, and
no one else noticed—except at one point they called Jaszi for some information.
out to do something useful, we asked what could be done without requiring
congressional authority? Go back to
1991, when film scholar Kristin Thompson was prominent in the Society for
Cinema Studies—membership consisted almost exclusively of film scholars who
wanted to write monographs and articles doing close analysis of movies, most of
them commercial, and were being told by publishers that they couldn’t
illustrate w/stills from films under discussion w/o © clearance. Movie studios had one of three answers: (1)
we don’t know who has the rights; (2) go away; (3) licensing fee that was
practically impossible to pay. Many
articles were published w/o illustrations or with line drawings to suggest characteristics
of frames under discussion. SCS decided that
it had had enough of this and assembled a blue ribbon committee of
distinguished scholars to write a document about why what we want to do with film
stills is fair use. Published in an
issue of their journal, sent offprints to publishers, gave them to scholars to
give to publishers—and the practice changed. All the publishers needed was a
nudge toward doing the right thing, a reason to feel higher level of security
about self-evident proposition that scholars should be able to use relevant
illustrations. That niche changed, and
no one else noticed—except at one point they called Jaszi for some information.
Mike Madison was another key person. Article: Pattern-oriented
approach to fair use. Jaszi realized
that the same thing that happened to film scholars happened to other people—Pat
Aufderheide knew about the documentary community. Documenting what people in the field think
and do can cause change in the legal environment. We’ve worked with a number of different
groups on this, and so far, so good.
approach to fair use. Jaszi realized
that the same thing that happened to film scholars happened to other people—Pat
Aufderheide knew about the documentary community. Documenting what people in the field think
and do can cause change in the legal environment. We’ve worked with a number of different
groups on this, and so far, so good.
Prof. Michael Madison – University of Pittsburgh School of
Law
Law
Intellectual/industrial-technological history threads came
together in his work. Intellectual: (1)
idea of fair use as market failure.
Wendy Gordon’s influential
1982 paper: not intended to be doctrinaire/market-oriented piece, but
academy understood it that way. Cast a
long shadow over copyright scholarship; even today, still cited as paradigmatic
fair use analysis. (2) Campbell v. Acuff-Rose (1994), borrowing
Leval’s concept of transformativeness and the Sony dissent on productive use.
Started to shift the conversation 10 years after Sony; pendulum was beginning to swing in different direction. As with Gordon’s framing of market failure,
it was very much focused on individual author, work, user/consumer—a one to one
analysis of the specific instance, classically liberal framing. Industrial-technological: (1) DMCA, 1998
comes into effect at the moment Madison was starting to teach. The idea of ISP as critical actor is
introduced; people are wondering how this will actually work in practice. What
happens when you start to scale notice and takedown from one work at a time, as
framed when legislation was discussed, to large-scale batch processing? Still wrestling with this in almost exactly
those terms. (2) Napster. A crisis—converging around personal/private use,
a concept lurking in the background at least since the Betamax case.
together in his work. Intellectual: (1)
idea of fair use as market failure.
Wendy Gordon’s influential
1982 paper: not intended to be doctrinaire/market-oriented piece, but
academy understood it that way. Cast a
long shadow over copyright scholarship; even today, still cited as paradigmatic
fair use analysis. (2) Campbell v. Acuff-Rose (1994), borrowing
Leval’s concept of transformativeness and the Sony dissent on productive use.
Started to shift the conversation 10 years after Sony; pendulum was beginning to swing in different direction. As with Gordon’s framing of market failure,
it was very much focused on individual author, work, user/consumer—a one to one
analysis of the specific instance, classically liberal framing. Industrial-technological: (1) DMCA, 1998
comes into effect at the moment Madison was starting to teach. The idea of ISP as critical actor is
introduced; people are wondering how this will actually work in practice. What
happens when you start to scale notice and takedown from one work at a time, as
framed when legislation was discussed, to large-scale batch processing? Still wrestling with this in almost exactly
those terms. (2) Napster. A crisis—converging around personal/private use,
a concept lurking in the background at least since the Betamax case.
Did not create a grand synthesis. Instead, found patterns going back for
centuries. A way of using social science
research to create an affirmative theory of fair use, not just a gap-filling
transactional theory—fair use is a good thing for the same reason that © as a
whole is a good thing.
centuries. A way of using social science
research to create an affirmative theory of fair use, not just a gap-filling
transactional theory—fair use is a good thing for the same reason that © as a
whole is a good thing.
Prof. Patricia Aufderheide – American University School of
Communications: How would you find out whether © was constraining particular
creators’ imaginations? We got that
study funded, and everything went from there. Front-row seat to experience of
self-censorship, and what it takes to assume responsibility and fight back
against profoundly warping effects of internalizing self-censorship. Filmmakers were proud of being professional
and surviving in a difficult environment, which means never thinking at all
about a project you can’t execute, because you put your company/investors at
financial risk. The list of things they know they can’t do turns out to be
long: they now see what looks like self-censorship. Their response was to begin to get
angry. Often at us: you should do
something about this!
Communications: How would you find out whether © was constraining particular
creators’ imaginations? We got that
study funded, and everything went from there. Front-row seat to experience of
self-censorship, and what it takes to assume responsibility and fight back
against profoundly warping effects of internalizing self-censorship. Filmmakers were proud of being professional
and surviving in a difficult environment, which means never thinking at all
about a project you can’t execute, because you put your company/investors at
financial risk. The list of things they know they can’t do turns out to be
long: they now see what looks like self-censorship. Their response was to begin to get
angry. Often at us: you should do
something about this!
It takes a while to convince them that if they’re complicit
in this problem, and they could do something, they should do something to
clarify what already exists in the law. They
wanted lawyers to fix it, but lawyers weren’t having the problem: the creative
people were! Once the filmmakers owned the
problem, then they got angry. Anger was based in ethical understanding of
fairness. They needed rights/ownership; in order to do that, they swallowed
their sense that it was wrong to have to pay for Happy Birthday when it was
recorded incidentally. When they
understand what the law permits, they get a sense of alignment b/t their sense
of ethics and the law. Law permits me to
charge people for full copies, and permits me to engage in fair use:
balance.
in this problem, and they could do something, they should do something to
clarify what already exists in the law. They
wanted lawyers to fix it, but lawyers weren’t having the problem: the creative
people were! Once the filmmakers owned the
problem, then they got angry. Anger was based in ethical understanding of
fairness. They needed rights/ownership; in order to do that, they swallowed
their sense that it was wrong to have to pay for Happy Birthday when it was
recorded incidentally. When they
understand what the law permits, they get a sense of alignment b/t their sense
of ethics and the law. Law permits me to
charge people for full copies, and permits me to engage in fair use:
balance.
Self-censorship, once learned, goes deep. When we started,
no one would accept fair use—filmmakers, insurers, broadcasters—now everyone
does accept it. Even so, they haven’t
given themselves permission to dream as big as fair use is—we asked what they’d
do if they had no copyright concerns at all, and most of the answers would be
ok under fair use. Filmmakers seek to
act in fair and ethical ways.
no one would accept fair use—filmmakers, insurers, broadcasters—now everyone
does accept it. Even so, they haven’t
given themselves permission to dream as big as fair use is—we asked what they’d
do if they had no copyright concerns at all, and most of the answers would be
ok under fair use. Filmmakers seek to
act in fair and ethical ways.
Visual arts: people tell artists that permission is always
required all the time. It’s such a constraint on ability to act. People end up
with projects like bonsai trees: nicely done, vigorous effort to survive under
really constraining conditions.
required all the time. It’s such a constraint on ability to act. People end up
with projects like bonsai trees: nicely done, vigorous effort to survive under
really constraining conditions.
Kyra Darnton – RetroReport: Short documentaries for places
like NYT website—61 in 2 ½ years.
Nonprofit, mission of bringing context and perspective to today’s news
by re-reporting and re-analyzing older stories to see their continuing
relevance. E.g., epidemic of “crack
babies” in the 1980s. We investigated
and found out that the claims were all based on 1 study of 23 babies, not
controlled for alcohol, maternal lifestyle, etc. and yet had real policy
implications. Hyperbolic reporting can
harm policy. We knew early on it couldn’t
be a print venture—need to see and understand the images that were important to
the story: night after night, news watchers saw the jittery “crack baby,” who
was actually jittery because it was premature, not b/c its mother had smoked
crack. Asking whether what we’re doing
is fair use has helped us sharpen what we want to say.
like NYT website—61 in 2 ½ years.
Nonprofit, mission of bringing context and perspective to today’s news
by re-reporting and re-analyzing older stories to see their continuing
relevance. E.g., epidemic of “crack
babies” in the 1980s. We investigated
and found out that the claims were all based on 1 study of 23 babies, not
controlled for alcohol, maternal lifestyle, etc. and yet had real policy
implications. Hyperbolic reporting can
harm policy. We knew early on it couldn’t
be a print venture—need to see and understand the images that were important to
the story: night after night, news watchers saw the jittery “crack baby,” who
was actually jittery because it was premature, not b/c its mother had smoked
crack. Asking whether what we’re doing
is fair use has helped us sharpen what we want to say.
Heather Briston – University of California Los Angeles
Library: As an archivist, has learned from best practices more how to help our
users. Sense of mission: archives change
lives. If you don’t let us change lives
because you won’t allow us to digitize things, we aren’t fulfilling our
mission. Important across libraries and archives, public and private, b/c they
all have that same mission at heart. ARL
best practices have begun to transform what we are able to do. We integrated
those best practices into our digitizing practices. We aren’t separating material into
copyrighted or not, because that would destroy collections. We put our digital process online so other
repositories could use this to develop/free their collections online. Surfaces otherwise hidden riches; potential
heirs don’t object but may ask for copies.
Makes thinking about fair use scalable—employ grad students to select
material for digitization and do initial review of materials to see if it’s
owned, copyrighted, fair use. They
usually have subject matter but not legal expertise; we help them work through
and summarize the issues. Created a group
of young potential scholars/digital arts & design students w/ a greater
understanding of the role of copyright and fair use in their work.
Library: As an archivist, has learned from best practices more how to help our
users. Sense of mission: archives change
lives. If you don’t let us change lives
because you won’t allow us to digitize things, we aren’t fulfilling our
mission. Important across libraries and archives, public and private, b/c they
all have that same mission at heart. ARL
best practices have begun to transform what we are able to do. We integrated
those best practices into our digitizing practices. We aren’t separating material into
copyrighted or not, because that would destroy collections. We put our digital process online so other
repositories could use this to develop/free their collections online. Surfaces otherwise hidden riches; potential
heirs don’t object but may ask for copies.
Makes thinking about fair use scalable—employ grad students to select
material for digitization and do initial review of materials to see if it’s
owned, copyrighted, fair use. They
usually have subject matter but not legal expertise; we help them work through
and summarize the issues. Created a group
of young potential scholars/digital arts & design students w/ a greater
understanding of the role of copyright and fair use in their work.
Also helps archivists and librarians to have talking points
with general counsel, who often are not experts in copyright. After stopping themselves from
self-censoring, they may have to go through the next set of gatekeepers—best practices
allow education of general counsel. We’ve been able to put up full collections
online, such as the Los Angeles Aqueduct Digital Platform—history of Southern
California’s relationship with water.
Extensive collections of African-American and Latino history in Los
Angeles.
with general counsel, who often are not experts in copyright. After stopping themselves from
self-censoring, they may have to go through the next set of gatekeepers—best practices
allow education of general counsel. We’ve been able to put up full collections
online, such as the Los Angeles Aqueduct Digital Platform—history of Southern
California’s relationship with water.
Extensive collections of African-American and Latino history in Los
Angeles.
Codes also empower us to bring to the table what we know as
archivists—confidence to work through the legal issues by knowing the value of
our archives.
archivists—confidence to work through the legal issues by knowing the value of
our archives.
Rachelle Browne – Smithsonian Institution: Best practices
for museums. As nonprofits w/educational
missions, museums often rely on fair use.
Gifts often don’t mention copyright or are unclear. May be impossible for museum to determine
whether it owns © in physical object it owns; new museum employees often
believe that owning the object means owning the ©, but we quickly disabuse them
of that notion.
for museums. As nonprofits w/educational
missions, museums often rely on fair use.
Gifts often don’t mention copyright or are unclear. May be impossible for museum to determine
whether it owns © in physical object it owns; new museum employees often
believe that owning the object means owning the ©, but we quickly disabuse them
of that notion.
Writers for museum journals often had trouble securing
electronic rights for images in their articles.
As a result of discussions, we decided to modify journal’s contributor
contracts, which say that freelance writers are responsible for paying any
required permissions, leaving open the possibility of fair use analysis; to
help contributors, we will develop and publish guidelines, probably linked to
CAA fair use principles; sometimes contributor will contact licensing agencies
w/o journal’s knowledge and try to get a license; as a practical matter,
journal needs an ongoing relationship with the agencies b/c some uses (like
cover images) may not be fair use; we don’t want contributors jumping the gun
and trying to license fair use. We will try to modify our agreement w/ our
third party database provider. The agreement says the journal is responsible
for obtaining permissions for all illustrations—she wants the flexibility of
fair use (of course, © law itself provides the permission for fair use, as we
heard in Lenz). Finally, rethink our
own relationships with licensing agencies. We are risk-averse; we’ve been
overpaying and over-licensing. We need
to pull back a bit.
electronic rights for images in their articles.
As a result of discussions, we decided to modify journal’s contributor
contracts, which say that freelance writers are responsible for paying any
required permissions, leaving open the possibility of fair use analysis; to
help contributors, we will develop and publish guidelines, probably linked to
CAA fair use principles; sometimes contributor will contact licensing agencies
w/o journal’s knowledge and try to get a license; as a practical matter,
journal needs an ongoing relationship with the agencies b/c some uses (like
cover images) may not be fair use; we don’t want contributors jumping the gun
and trying to license fair use. We will try to modify our agreement w/ our
third party database provider. The agreement says the journal is responsible
for obtaining permissions for all illustrations—she wants the flexibility of
fair use (of course, © law itself provides the permission for fair use, as we
heard in Lenz). Finally, rethink our
own relationships with licensing agencies. We are risk-averse; we’ve been
overpaying and over-licensing. We need
to pull back a bit.
We’ve occasionally been asked by the licensing agencies to
pay for public domain materials.
pay for public domain materials.
Carrie Russell, ALA: Students are often told to get
permission for everything in their dissertations—a huge problem.
permission for everything in their dissertations—a huge problem.
Michael Carroll: © owners complain that they weren’t in the
room when best practices were put together.
Your thoughts?
room when best practices were put together.
Your thoughts?
Aufderheide: Has heard Fritz Attaway (MPAA) muttering that
it’s risky to follow these guidelines, but when I ask why, he won’t
answer. Every major studio has used the
Code to make their own fair use decisions. Commercial archives have used the
code to tell filmmakers when they can and can’t use fair use. Clarity is valuable for everyone. Major
rights holders aren’t much interested in challenging them.
it’s risky to follow these guidelines, but when I ask why, he won’t
answer. Every major studio has used the
Code to make their own fair use decisions. Commercial archives have used the
code to tell filmmakers when they can and can’t use fair use. Clarity is valuable for everyone. Major
rights holders aren’t much interested in challenging them.
Madison: at level of application/practice, that’s accurate.
At more general level, from the beginning of presenting drafts of my paper, I
heard outright challenges to the legitimacy of this framework—it’s not
appropriate to do this without including the relevant rightsholders—people from
the Hill said it—an effort to control the politics of the dialogue, not the
mechanics on the ground. Pushback w/in
the copyright scholarly community—generally sympathetic, but criticism
nonetheless. Jennifer Rothman: was
skeptical that it would work; was concerned that it would be underinclusive; in
some ways experience proved that wrong.
The longer we go into actual practice of forming, using, and thinking
about the missions of fields/institutions, the more it works in practice.
At more general level, from the beginning of presenting drafts of my paper, I
heard outright challenges to the legitimacy of this framework—it’s not
appropriate to do this without including the relevant rightsholders—people from
the Hill said it—an effort to control the politics of the dialogue, not the
mechanics on the ground. Pushback w/in
the copyright scholarly community—generally sympathetic, but criticism
nonetheless. Jennifer Rothman: was
skeptical that it would work; was concerned that it would be underinclusive; in
some ways experience proved that wrong.
The longer we go into actual practice of forming, using, and thinking
about the missions of fields/institutions, the more it works in practice.
Darnton: we’ve had interactions w/ an archive that said, we
understand you used fair use for this one use, but if you ever want to go
beyond that, here’s our number.
understand you used fair use for this one use, but if you ever want to go
beyond that, here’s our number.
Brandon Butler: Why does this work better than lawyers
telling you that fair use is big and broad?
telling you that fair use is big and broad?
Aufderheide: b/c people in the field are bombarded by
counterinformation all the time, in part from people acting w/goodwill—rights experts
have learned long ago that everything has to be cleared. At film festivals & conferences, they
hear from lawyers whose only job is to get business and clear rights for them,
so the lawyers talk about how dangerous the world is. More generally, they need
to take ownership of the process themselves.
counterinformation all the time, in part from people acting w/goodwill—rights experts
have learned long ago that everything has to be cleared. At film festivals & conferences, they
hear from lawyers whose only job is to get business and clear rights for them,
so the lawyers talk about how dangerous the world is. More generally, they need
to take ownership of the process themselves.
Jaszi: Funders like Mellon and Ford have found out that if a
project like this is going to be effective, they need to fund both development
of a code and its dissemination. We work very hard to educate members of a
community about a code, once developed.
project like this is going to be effective, they need to fund both development
of a code and its dissemination. We work very hard to educate members of a
community about a code, once developed.
Briston: being developed w/in a community is important.
Nothing like sitting down and discussing what we think is fair. We’ve been
lectured to, but not asked. Peer
learning, as they say in higher ed.
Archivists can tell each other things we wouldn’t hear if said by
lawyers.
Nothing like sitting down and discussing what we think is fair. We’ve been
lectured to, but not asked. Peer
learning, as they say in higher ed.
Archivists can tell each other things we wouldn’t hear if said by
lawyers.
Adam Eisgrau, ALA: If there were a defense fund that a
famous documentarian were to fund, what effect would that have?
famous documentarian were to fund, what effect would that have?
Jaszi: might be a good thing, but to do that kind of test
litigation, you’d first need plaintiffs willing to come forward. We’ve been at
this 10 years and we haven’t had a lawsuit against anyone using these codes of
best practices. Maybe practitioners would
be bolder with a defense fund, but he’s not sure.
litigation, you’d first need plaintiffs willing to come forward. We’ve been at
this 10 years and we haven’t had a lawsuit against anyone using these codes of
best practices. Maybe practitioners would
be bolder with a defense fund, but he’s not sure.
Madison: Gets asked what a court is supposed to do with
these codes, which are voluntary.
General response: the point of a code is to stop that. Raising a fund for the defense invites the
kind of litigation we’re trying to empower people to avoid. Raises a political concern that the presence
of money on the table contaminates the volunteer community self-governance
coloration of the movement. Everyone at
the table is in this for the mission, regardless of institution/practice
community. Money can leave you open to
the charge that someone is putting you up to this.
these codes, which are voluntary.
General response: the point of a code is to stop that. Raising a fund for the defense invites the
kind of litigation we’re trying to empower people to avoid. Raises a political concern that the presence
of money on the table contaminates the volunteer community self-governance
coloration of the movement. Everyone at
the table is in this for the mission, regardless of institution/practice
community. Money can leave you open to
the charge that someone is putting you up to this.
Darnton: In 61 films, I can’t think of one instance where we
had a strong argument we wanted to make that we couldn’t.
had a strong argument we wanted to make that we couldn’t.
Directions Forward
Prof. Rebecca Tushnet – Georgetown University Law Center
Thank you to Peter, Pat,
Mike, Meredith, everyone else who got us here.
When I entered the field at the turn of the century I thought I would
spend my career working only in academics, because there was so little chance
for progressive copyright reform. Back
in 2009, Peter gave us advice on advocating for our DMCA exemption for video
remix, which I first thought was unwinnable and now is largely conceded by the
MPAA. Even right after I testified in that
round, I wrote in my journal: “Today I did a very good job at something where
the extent to which I did a good job doesn’t matter.” Given that experience, when
Peter asked me to talk about the next ten years, I decided not to make
predictions.
Mike, Meredith, everyone else who got us here.
When I entered the field at the turn of the century I thought I would
spend my career working only in academics, because there was so little chance
for progressive copyright reform. Back
in 2009, Peter gave us advice on advocating for our DMCA exemption for video
remix, which I first thought was unwinnable and now is largely conceded by the
MPAA. Even right after I testified in that
round, I wrote in my journal: “Today I did a very good job at something where
the extent to which I did a good job doesn’t matter.” Given that experience, when
Peter asked me to talk about the next ten years, I decided not to make
predictions.
Instead, I will give
my wish list for what we will be working towards, both as academics and as
activists. First: Communicating fair use,
correcting common misconceptions, taking fair use further into the
classroom—for students as well as teachers. Building on the “everything I
needed to know I learned in kindergarten” idea—be fair; share; you can learn a
lot by copying someone at the appropriate time. Second: Internationalizing fair use and
flexible fair dealing. Encouraging moves
in the UK, South Africa, but much remains to be done. Third: Expanding our focus to trademarks, the
right of publicity, and design patents (where there is no statutorily defined
fair use defense at all, and people are increasingly patenting digital
interface elements and logos). Exemplar:
Public Citizen, spearheaded by Paul Alan Levy, made the same kind of move that
Peter described for EFF, but did it in trademark. Trademark public interest bar is just
beginning to become more organized, following the copyright and utility patent
bars.
my wish list for what we will be working towards, both as academics and as
activists. First: Communicating fair use,
correcting common misconceptions, taking fair use further into the
classroom—for students as well as teachers. Building on the “everything I
needed to know I learned in kindergarten” idea—be fair; share; you can learn a
lot by copying someone at the appropriate time. Second: Internationalizing fair use and
flexible fair dealing. Encouraging moves
in the UK, South Africa, but much remains to be done. Third: Expanding our focus to trademarks, the
right of publicity, and design patents (where there is no statutorily defined
fair use defense at all, and people are increasingly patenting digital
interface elements and logos). Exemplar:
Public Citizen, spearheaded by Paul Alan Levy, made the same kind of move that
Peter described for EFF, but did it in trademark. Trademark public interest bar is just
beginning to become more organized, following the copyright and utility patent
bars.
As the great sage Hillel
wrote: If not now, then when? Picking up
from Brandon’s tribute to his students: If not me, then who?
wrote: If not now, then when? Picking up
from Brandon’s tribute to his students: If not me, then who?
Sherwin Siy – Public Knowledge: The how of reform. Advocate for/against relevant bills; give
staff background through meetings, giving them perspective on how these issues
affect students, consumers, etc.
Executive branch: file comments in rulemaking settings; convince agency
staff of the importance of good, fair copyright policies and let them be a
bully pulpit for how access can work.
Judicial: impact litigation; client service—giving advice, like New Media
Rights does. Amicus briefs. If you can’t make good law, make good dicta.
staff background through meetings, giving them perspective on how these issues
affect students, consumers, etc.
Executive branch: file comments in rulemaking settings; convince agency
staff of the importance of good, fair copyright policies and let them be a
bully pulpit for how access can work.
Judicial: impact litigation; client service—giving advice, like New Media
Rights does. Amicus briefs. If you can’t make good law, make good dicta.
Reach out to the public; talk to the press; tell the story
of what’s happening and why it matters.
of what’s happening and why it matters.
Gridlock. Established
interests that are at least comfortable, if not entirely happy, with the status
quo direction of the law. They’ve at
least made peace with what the law can do and what they can do with the law or
the market by throwing their weight around. Then there are people who want
change—both damaging and good. Those voices are competing in a field against
both volume and inertia, and competing in the wider political realm w/1000
other issues.
interests that are at least comfortable, if not entirely happy, with the status
quo direction of the law. They’ve at
least made peace with what the law can do and what they can do with the law or
the market by throwing their weight around. Then there are people who want
change—both damaging and good. Those voices are competing in a field against
both volume and inertia, and competing in the wider political realm w/1000
other issues.
There’s a world of people interested in these issues, but as
many as there are, the world of people affected is much larger—for every 100
people who care about the DMCA, there are 100,000 who haven’t given it a single
thought. Only a few flashpoints reach beyond the inner circle. Grind away at what must be done, but also
spread awareness b/c more people create more potential for change; we want to
reach people to grow the movement. Large
copyright owners have become aware that public opinion actually matters; that
awareness may hurt the pipeline of people prepared to become activists. Geeks are exercised about net neutrality and
less so about fair use b/c the horrifying abuses they’ve seen have come from
Comcast, not from the major labels.
many as there are, the world of people affected is much larger—for every 100
people who care about the DMCA, there are 100,000 who haven’t given it a single
thought. Only a few flashpoints reach beyond the inner circle. Grind away at what must be done, but also
spread awareness b/c more people create more potential for change; we want to
reach people to grow the movement. Large
copyright owners have become aware that public opinion actually matters; that
awareness may hurt the pipeline of people prepared to become activists. Geeks are exercised about net neutrality and
less so about fair use b/c the horrifying abuses they’ve seen have come from
Comcast, not from the major labels.
It’s about culture: not everyone’s an activist. Even if they don’t call their senators,
attitudes move the world/set norms. That
affects the law as well; can obviate the need for changes in the law. In fair
use, intent matters immensely to purpose/character and effect on the market—what
markets we are and aren’t willing to accept.
Reaching out to other communities for their experiences is a way to keep
that circulation going.
attitudes move the world/set norms. That
affects the law as well; can obviate the need for changes in the law. In fair
use, intent matters immensely to purpose/character and effect on the market—what
markets we are and aren’t willing to accept.
Reaching out to other communities for their experiences is a way to keep
that circulation going.
Joshua Lamel – Re:Create
How many of us have created something and uploaded it in the
last 24 hours? We are all creators now;
care about upload speed as much as download. Re:Create is trying to tell the
stories on that side, explaining what balance is and why we need it. Shifts that are coming: will have more real
data to use in advocacy. A lot of storytelling
as well. Other side has stories about
the cameraman who lost his job; we have stories about the cameraman who made
$40,000 on YouTube last year. Unlocked a
creative revolution. But Congress isn’t
hearing about how, even in LA, people believe that the internet has been good
for creativity and has democratized creativity.
last 24 hours? We are all creators now;
care about upload speed as much as download. Re:Create is trying to tell the
stories on that side, explaining what balance is and why we need it. Shifts that are coming: will have more real
data to use in advocacy. A lot of storytelling
as well. Other side has stories about
the cameraman who lost his job; we have stories about the cameraman who made
$40,000 on YouTube last year. Unlocked a
creative revolution. But Congress isn’t
hearing about how, even in LA, people believe that the internet has been good
for creativity and has democratized creativity.
In 1976 or 1998, to produce a video and distribute it to a
million people would be difficult and expensive. In 2015, it is part of the sunk cost of your
phone and your internet access—a profound change.
million people would be difficult and expensive. In 2015, it is part of the sunk cost of your
phone and your internet access—a profound change.
Our issues have also become more bipartisan, with the return
of libertarianism as well as progressivism.
Bringing together groups normally not associated w/each other.
of libertarianism as well as progressivism.
Bringing together groups normally not associated w/each other.
Madison: Lawyers do deal in data, we just call it evidence. The things we heard about today have had traction when at other times they haven’t is in part b/c we sometimes idealize and abstract ideas of community, culture, progress in ethereal terms. Here we put meat on those bones with nuance and detail necessary to tell the stories persuasively. Communities have places and their content matters. Hard work of getting into aspects of creative practice; norms of community–important lesson for strategizing the next phases of progressive copyright reform. “Everyone is a creator” is true in the abstract, but it’s even better to identify the Harry Potter Alliance.
Then there was some discussion of the use of copyright to achieve non-copyright aims–from stopping annoying Times Square actors to stopping people from modifying their cars. Statutory damages are an unusual and significant hammer that makes everything look like a nail. Maybe we need a threats action to deter wrongful takedowns more than 512 does and wrongful infringement claims.
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