Meet the Future
It seems like every day, the fight over copyright and piracy gets a little more ridiculous. The last two Warner Bros. DVD’s I’ve picked up have had anti-piracy ads on them. These weren’t your usual anti-piracy ads, however. No, these were ads that made their point by re-editing classic film scenes with cheesy-font title cards to make them scenes about film piracy. Thanks to the efforts of Warner Bros., I might as well throw out my legitimately purchased copy of Casablanca, since the image of a hurt and sullen Rick finally telling Ilsa how he feels will now forever be remembered as the scene where Rick scolds Ilsa for pirating DVD’s. And I might as well never purchase any of the umpteen-billion special editons of The Wizard of Oz, since now I’ll know that the Great and Powerful Oz isn’t blustering to hide his lack of any true power, but is genuinely angry that Dorothy and her friends are considering pirating a DVD.
Given how ridiculous it’s getting, it’s hard to satirize the argument any more. So when it’s suggested that musicians are owed royalties when their music is used to torture (excuse me, “freedom tickle”) detainees, I’m disturbed to report that my initial response was, “Well, why not? They demand royalties for every other possible use.”
Leaving aside the legal niceties about whose law if any applies in that dreadful place, one can only wonder if ASCAP might not want a piece of the action. After all, it went after the Girl Guides not so long ago. And if it could try to make a buck off Girl Guides, who are nice people, why not alleged terrorists? Why should terrorists enjoy free music?
Link via Boing Boing.