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GoldieBlox Sues Beastie Boys

[NOTE:  Since publishing this post, GoldieBlox removed access to its original video and has replaced it with a generic version absent any reference to the Beastie Boys song.]

I’d seen this video make the rounds on Facebook but didn’t know that it was at the heart of a new controversy regarding copyrights and fair use.  A promo for the innovative toy-making startup GoldieBlox, the video traces the path of an ingenious Rube Goldberg construct made of everyday household items and kids’ toys as the lyrics promote empowerment for girls.  All good except for one little problem:  the song is in fact “Girls” by the Beastie Boys, a band that determined in its earliest days not to allow commercial use of its works.  Atypically, though, the band wasn’t the first to file suit or even send a cease and desist letter.  To the contrary, as soon as the band made an inquiry into the use of its song, GoldieBlox sued them claiming fair use on the grounds that the video is parody.

I have two observations:

First, if the case were to go to court, it could be a big deal.  Parody or not, the spirit of fair use in this sense is meant for people or entities whose purpose is to create parody itself in the form of entertainment, not for producing commercials that sell products or promote brands.  Regardless of GoldieBlox’s noble mission to empower young girls, there’s no gray area here; this is a commercial for a company, and we cannot allow fair use to include any company simply boosting creative works at will.  Finding in GoldieBlock’s favor would be precedent-setting.  If that company can use a  Beastie Boys song without permission, then what’s to stop Koch Industries from rewriting the lyrics to “Imagine” for a brand identity video that also promotes the Koch Brothers’ social and political views?  It would just be parody of Lennon’s pro-communist song, right?

The second observation I have is a creative one.  The video is so brilliant, the message so strong, and the Rube Goldberg contraption so complex and fun to watch that I insist the video would be as effective and readily shared without actually using the Beastie Boys’ “Girls.”  For one thing, a parody of the original, misogynistic lyrics only resonates with a viewer who knows the source; and most parents of young children are probably a decade or so too young to have a lot of Beastie Boys in their subconsciouses.  Hell, I went to tiny little Bard College with Adam Yauch, and I wouldn’t have known this video was based on “Girls,” if I hadn’t read about it. But I still would share the video as a cool piece for its many virtues.

It can be hard to know why creative teams or executives determine that a commercial production needs to be based on some existing cultural reference.  Sometimes it’s essential to the concept and the message, sometimes it’s a misjudgment, sometimes it’s laziness, and sometimes it’s just ego.  One possibility in this particular case, given how quick GoldieBlox moved to sue the band, is that the company wanted to draw fire from the Beastie Boys, which if nothing else, would generate free publicity and more views of the video.  I hope this wasn’t part of the calculus; I like what the GoldieBlox brand wants to be for young girls and would hate to see the company act like old boys.

ADDENDUM:  Read Felix Salmon from Reuters.  Silicon Valley company being “disruptive” as  SOP and having nothing ultimately to do with the Beastie Boys or the rights of artists?  Could be.  I would also recommend Chris Castle’s piece on the subject and the issue of PR by Lawsuit (just in time for Black Friday!)

POST SCRIPT 7:00p EST: And then . . .the open letter apology from GoldieBlox that brings to mind the word cloying, particularly the “we’re just little, please don’t hurt us” implication considering the Beastie Boys had only made inquiries. It’s been interesting and encouraging to note that as this story has unfolded throughout the day, public sentiment seems to favor the Beastie Boys in this case.  Through all the mystifying nonsense about copyright these days, people seem to believe in the fundamental principle that creators do have a right to control the use of their works.

Terry Hart Rebuts Rebuttal of IIPA Report on Copyright

As usual, Terry Hart at Copyhype comes bearing wisdom and footnotes in his follow-up post on the IIPA Report indicating that copyright industries contribute substantially to GDP.  From his post:

The reaction from copyright skeptics about the report’s conclusions that copyright contributes significantly to the US economy was, essentially: “Does not.”

The spin seems to be that, yes, industries that create and disseminate copyrighted works may make substantial contributions to the US economy, but that does not necessarily mean that the success is a result of copyright itself. Jonathan Band, writing at the CCIA’s Project DisCo, says, “The report itself does not in any way attribute the success of these industries to copyright protection.”

Hart calls this argument “odd” because it is.  To me, Band’s criticism is like saying the right of free speech has nothing to do with the profusion of citizen journalism, satire, or political debate in America, but what do I know?  Read Terry’s blog, and read it often.  When it comes to the real nuts and bolts of copyright, Terry is a wise, sober voice — with footnotes!  I’m just a curmudgeon with a well-worn thesaurus.

Read Terry’s post at Copyhype here.

Girl Talk Goes Viral with Lulu App

College friends shared this story in the New York Times about the Lulu App which is essentially a girls-only, mobile application, used in conjunction with Facebook, for profiling men they know either as friends or as previous dates or boyfriends, so that other women can make informed decisions about a guy before dating or sleeping with him. I sent the article to two women under 30, and both responded with words like “gross” and “awful,” and I was about to write a somewhat cynical piece on the subject, but further reading reveals the Lulu app to be more thoughtful and tasteful than the Times article suggests or than one might assume from an outsider’s view.

There are apps and online services tailored to people of all ages seeking casual sex or long-term relationships or something in between these oft-blurred lines in the complex dynamics of dating.  And I’m the last guy who would so much as imply any kind of moral judgment regarding any non-harmful behavior in the diverse mosaic of human desires, passions, or romantic entanglements.

The Lulu app seems to be very popular on college campuses, and while it’s easy to wonder whether or not there is much value in technologically expanding what amounts to old-school “girl talk,” I suspect that particularly at a large university, a resource like Lulu is a net positive for young women.  In a landscape that includes date rape, revenge porn, and other misogynistic trends that have actually been exacerbated in many ways by social media, it’s hard not to conclude that an app like Lulu does seem to empower single women in a way that is uniquely possible and necessary in the digital age. Let’s be honest, women have historically talked among themselves more openly than men do with one another about relationships and sex, and this kind of app brings some of that discussion into the open, even allowing men to be part of it to an extent. Moreover, Lulu’s designers have been thoughtful about trying to mitigate malicious use by the ex-girlfriend or rejected suitor who wants to slander a guy.  For instance, a man profiled has to be 1) at least Facebook friends with the women doing the rating; and 2) agree to have their profiles made available at all.

So, one positive aspect of an app like Lulu might be that it could demystify to an extent what it is women value and what they share with one another. This could ameliorate a measure of low self-esteem among men, which is often the source of their worst behaviors as boyfriends and lovers.  A male college friend who saw the post joked that Lulu is essentially a technological expansion of what used to be the Ladies Room wall at our local bar. He isn’t wrong, and, maybe there’s something to be said for men being privy (no pun intended) to what’s on the Ladies Room wall.  Of course, it should also be noted, as it was by my female contemporaries on the same thread, that a men-only version of this app rating women in a similar fashion would likely ignite a brush fire of feminist outrage.

One thing I do notice about Lulu is that its messaging seems a little bi-polar.  Founder Alexandra Chong is quoted in the Times as describing her users thus:  “You want to know if mothers like him. Does he have good manners? Is he sweet?” This suggests a measure of depth and human connection being sought, whereas the images and video used to promote the app online depict a pretty shallow portrait of the world’s single people. All the models featured look like headliners for MTV’s old Spring Break series, and it’s not that there’s anything wrong per se with the Greek Life, party-school thing, only that this is a rather narrow view of “dating,” even at college. In order to limit potential abuse, Lulu doesn’t allow original comments, but instead offers multiple-choice selections in the form of hashtags.  We see an example of this in the online promo video set in a party scene. A young guy with a perfect body dances shirtless, archetypal plastic, red Dixie cup full of intoxicant in hand, and the sexy, young woman using the Lulu app checks him out to discover that he #OwnsCrocs. This suggests to me a faddish and slightly insipid quality to Lulu. If this same adonis in the freeze-frame were instead tagged #ComparativeLitMajor and #OwnsCrocs, or maybe someone else in the scene who looks slightly more like regular folks had the tag #RudeToWaiters, one might get a sense that Lulu’s users are interested in something other than just turning the tables on raw objectification.

I don’t judge.  If Lulu can empower women in some way that makes dating more enjoyable, or at least safer, so be it.  If it’s just another tool for one-night-stands, that’s fine too.  If it ultimately becomes the latter, though, women should not be surprised to find that new technologies sometimes just help us make the same old mistakes a little faster.