SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submitted via IRC for SoyCow8093
The Michael Jackson Estate is suing the Walt Disney Company and ABC for using dozens of its copyrighted works without permission. According to Disney, no harm has been done, since including these works in "The Last Days of Michael Jackson" documentary is "fair use." The Estate clearly disagrees and notes that Disney's argument would make even the founders of Napster pause.
According to the claim, Disney and ABC’s broadcast used at least thirty different copyrighted works owned by the Estate, without permission. In fact, Michael Jackson’s heirs specifically urged the media titans not to use its intellectual property without a license.
Since Disney is known to be an avid protector of its own rights, the Estate calls out the company’s double standard. “Apparently, Disney’s passion for the copyright laws disappears when it doesn’t involve its own intellectual property and it sees an opportunity to profit off of someone else’s intellectual property without permission or payment,” the complaint reads.
The complaint stresses that Disney is known for its strict copyright enforcement actions and a narrow view of copyright law’s “fair use” doctrine. “For example, just a few years ago, [Disney] sent DMCA takedown notices to Twitter, Facebook, and other websites and webhosts, when consumers posted pictures of new Star Wars toys that the consumers had legally purchased.
“Apparently, Disney claimed that simple amateur photographs of Star Wars characters in toy form infringed Disney’s copyrights in the characters and were not a fair use,” the state writes.
However, when the Estate urged Disney not to use any of its copyrighted works without permission, Disney’s attorney used fair use as a defense. The company argued that it could legally use Jackson’s copyrighted material since the broadcast was labeled as a documentary. This is “absurd” and “dead wrong” according to Jackson’s heirs, who see it as a blatant form of infringement which even the founders of Napster would recognize.
[...] A copy of the Michael Jackson Estate’s complaint against The Walt Disney Company and ABC is available here (PDF).
Source: https://torrentfreak.com/michael-jackson-estate-turns-the-fair-use-table-on-disney-180531/
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 04 2018, @06:37AM (6 children)
If anyone hasn't been paying attention, they have reached the point where they can both buy the legislature to ensure 'their' imaginary property will never enter the public domain, in frank contravention of the Constitution, and they have enough of an engine built up on past works that they are able to buy the rights to newer ones.
Marvel. Star Wars.
We must return to rational, constitutional copyright. Fourteen (14) years was sufficient in the age where the printing press was a novel idea. This should be an absolute upper bound on the length today, with infinite cost-free distribution. Five years with an optional one-time renewal would be reasonable.
For any person or corporation to be able to hold absolute power over ideas, for what amounts to multiple generations if not lifetimes, is patently absurd.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 04 2018, @07:40AM (1 child)
Why? Seems the real problem is your legislature can be bought and the resulting laws are bad. Removing Disney doesn't fix this at all.
Or is the real reason you're fine with your side still being able to buy the legislature and prefer that Disney be sacrificed to satisfy the ignorant mobs?
The US Government seems to give such matters a very high priority, look what they did to Kim Dotcom. Why was getting him so important till it was acceptable to break the illusion that NZ is an independent country and make NZ arrest him? Was what he did Snowden level?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 04 2018, @08:11AM
You're half right, or more. The underlying problem needs to be fixed. But, Disney is the worst of the worst offenders. I'd love to see them go belly up, and gasp out the last of their lives. As I mentioned earlier, Disney and the MPAA are the worst - all other players are small fry in comparison.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Mykl on Monday June 04 2018, @07:41AM (2 children)
I see what you did there.
(Score: 4, Funny) by AthanasiusKircher on Monday June 04 2018, @11:05AM (1 child)
It's good that you quoted parent post accurately; not everyone takes the time to copy right.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 04 2018, @12:26PM
Punny Brewster?
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Monday June 04 2018, @08:21PM
The same asshats want to expand it to 144 years now...
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/05/18/us_congress_copyright_extension/ [theregister.co.uk]
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P