It often seems as though each time an artist, let alone a legend, pays homage to the past, some pundit with an axe to grind on copyright seizes the moment to declare the contemporary law restrictive to creative development. Variations on the theme of “artists could never do that today” have been trotted out in essays, some thoughtful, others not ...
An open letter supporting intellectual property was sent today to the 114th Congress. The majority of its signatories are conservative political organizations, which is reflective of the now-Republican majority in both houses; but the letter is also signed by several left-leaning organizations as well as academics representing non-partisan study groups and think tanks. Titled Intellectual Property Guidelines, the letter briefly outlines ...
I have to direct readers’ attention to this blog post by composer and cellist Zoë Keating. It is the clearest articulation I have yet read about the rock-and-hard-place terms demanded of artists who are considering participation in YouTube’s paid streaming service Music Key. Keating outlines some of the non-negotiable terms she doesn’t like, for instance that her entire catalog becomes fair game ...
Ernesto (no last name) at TorrentFreak published a slightly sarcastic article about the fact that pre-release piracy did not do any apparent harm to the box office bonanza for the makers of American Sniper. I have personally criticized pre-release piracy as a distinctly egregious form of theft and have stood by the principle that the behavior can cause harm to ...
We all know the common criticism that a film adaptation is never “as good as the book.” There are a number of reasons, some of them very subtle, why fans of source materials are easily disappointed by films based on them. Not only is it mandatory that a feature film script leave out a considerable amount of detail from a ...
