Art Machine
Just another former infatuation junkie

With every story that hits, it seems like the question becomes not so much whether or not we’ll see changes in the intellectual property laws so much as when we’ll see those changes. At this moment in time, so many people have been alienated in the attempt to “protect the artist” (which generally translates to “protect the distribution company’s pocketbook”) that it’s a wonder anybody still buys their product.

And in the middle of all the DRM-madness, litigation insanity, and steroid-abusing media conglomerate muscle flexing, the Smithsonian signs an exclusive deal with Showtime. Wait—the Smithsonian?

On March 9, Showtime and the Smithsonian announced the creation of Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture to develop television programming. Under the agreement, the joint venture has the right of first refusal to commercial documentaries that rely heavily on Smithsonian collections or staff. Those works would first have to be offered to Smithsonian on Demand, the cable channel that is expected to be the venture’s first programming service.

A Smithsonian official who is managing the institution’s content and production assistance for the venture said yesterday that while the new arrangement did limit the ability of commercial filmmakers to sell some projects elsewhere, it ultimately would affect a small number of the works that draw on the museum’s resources.

“It’s not our obligation to help independent filmmakers sell their wares to commercial broadcast and cable networks,” said the official, Jeanny Kim, a vice president for media services for Smithsonian Business Ventures.

Well, yes – there’s a point there. It’s not the Smithsonian’s obligation “to help independent filmmakers sell their wares to commercial broadcast and cable networks.” According to Secretary Lawrence M. Small’s vision statment:

“The Smithsonian is committed to enlarging our shared understanding of the mosaic that is our national identity by providing authoritative experiences that connect us to our history and our heritage as Americans and to promoting innovation, research and discovery in science. These commitments have been central to the Smithsonian since its founding more than 155 years ago.”

Of course, the best way to enlarge our understanding of “the mosaic that is our national identity” is by running a cable network and demanding that artists and filmmakers who use your (previously freely-available) archival materials give you their work for first-refusal rather than letting them choose how to distribute it themselves. And that’s perfectly in line with James Smithson’s vision of the institute as an “Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge.”

Somewhere, access to intellectual property is going to need expanding – and the laws that govern it are worn so thin already that they’re ready to burst. At the moment, it seems that documentary filmmaking may be the place where it finally breaks.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 3rd, 2006 at 9:15 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.