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Are TV Networks "Inducing" Infringement?
The Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC) today pointed to the threat of suit against a popular political song parody as illustrating worrisome trends in copyright law, and, in particular, the danger posed by a pending bill, S. 2560, the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004. A music publishing company now holding the rights to the late Woody Guthrie's 1956 classic "This Land Is Your Land" has threatened to sue the creators of the widely circulated JibJab parody. "This case illustrates the potentially cascading effect of overly broad laws and court cases," HRRC Chairman Gary Shapiro said. "Copyright terms have been extended for almost a century after the artist dies. Coverage for these protected works is claimed so broadly as to chill, threaten and squelch any possible creativity, in others, that the works may inspire. Now -- if S. 2560 were to pass - anyone who popularizes, points to, or even discusses an allegedly infringing version would also face suit for infringement. It would then take a jury trial to prove that you did not intend to induce infringement." "This Land Is Your Land" was written almost 50 years ago. The creators of the satirical JibJab web site produced a music video parody featuring images of President Bush, Senator Kerry, and other well-known political figures. It achieved such notice and acclaim that it was featured on the CBS Evening News. The creators were interviewed and lauded on ABC World News Tonight. When Ludlow Music, the present rights holder, threatened suit, the NBC Nightly News ran portions of it. Today, the CNN/Money site -- http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/26/commentary/wastler/wastler/?cnn=yes -- and others feature links to the full presentation on the JibJab site." "CBS is owned by Viacom, which owns a movie studio," Shapiro continued. "CNN is owned by Time Warner, which owns a movie studio. Disney owns ABC. GE owns NBC Universal. By channeling viewers to the web site for additional plays of the allegedly infringing work, and even actively promoting it, these sophisticated businesses would seem to be knowingly inducing further alleged infringements. If S. 2560 were to pass, it would seem that they would be among the likely defendants, along with the JibJab creators. Shapiro added that HRRC, of course, is not pre-judging the validity of the copyright claim against the JibJab parody. The right to parody, like other instances of fair use, is strongly grounded in the First Amendment. The point, he said, is that if such a case is considered strong enough to go to trial, S. 2560 would make potential defendants of Disney, CBS, NBC, CNN, and many others who have pointed to, forwarded, or publicly performed the JibJab work. HRRC also noted, courtesy of the "Techdirt" site -- http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20040726/1733230_F.shtml - that the view of copyright taken by publishers who acquire artists' rights often differs dramatically from the views of the artists themselves. As reported by "Techdirt," here is the copyright notice that Woody Guthrie himself affixed to a work: "This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don't give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do."
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