What Disney Can Teach us About Copyright

So I may be a little late to the party (about 9,640,708 views late) but I thought I'd share this fairly ingenious video with anyone who might also be missing out. 

Biggest takeaways? Ideas can't be copyrighted.  You can only copyright the form an idea takes.  Hence the billion versions of Romeo & Juliet.

A free Santa is a happy Santa.

Copyright lasts for a fixed amount of time.  However, that fixed amount of time has grown since the 1970s to be virtually endless, preventing characters like Mickey Mouse from entering the public domain as he should have in 2004(see Copyright Term Extension Act).  Can you imagine if the iconic image of Santa Claus was created under current copyright law?  It would definitely make me think twice before putting out christmas decorations, lest having to pay heavy royalty fees.

One of the main arguments for copyright is that it protects the value of the work from dilution.  However, I feel that a work (in some cases) becomes MORE popular and MORE valuable in the public domain, such as is the case with our friend Santa and the Easter Bunny.  Proliferation can be power. By giving everyone ownership, we can ensure the protection and advancement of our favorite books, musical works, films and characters for years to come.

Kelly Chapman Speaks Transmedia

Just finished watching Aussie Kelly Chapman talk about creating ancillary methods of engagement (web video, ARGs, social networks) for television shows (Lost most notably) and films.  She walks through a number of well-known examples such as Paranormal Activity and 2012 and discusses her own experiences with the Find 815 ARG and the upcoming feature Jucy.  Not only is she a pioneering transmedia producer --a title I hope to hold one day!--but she's also clearly a smart, take charge, kickass chick.

The best part of this presentation is the behind-the-scenes clip she shows of the Jucy crew playing a crass game the characters in the movie play.  It starts around 28:30.  What a great idea for creating additional material that's not your run of the mill "making of".  I'd love to hear what some other non-traditional ideas filmmakers are employing to keep up with their audiences.


Kelly Chapman keynote SPAA Fringe 2009 from KCDC on Vimeo.

FCC Plays Ball with Comcast/GE/NBCU

It's about damn time the government woke up on this thing. After the courts screwed up royally with the ruling on net neutrality, it's good to see the FCC assert some more oversight in regards to this potential monopoly. Comcast subscribers may find in the future that they'll have to pay for internet access to non-NBC material because of the high prices that will be charged to other content producers, like CBS. Or worse, not being able to access certain content because of blocked ISPs.

FINALLY, BIG MEDIA OVERSIGHT! FCC Stops Clock On Comcast/GE/NBCU Review