Fair use wins big with animated ethnic slur fest

Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:36 PM
Business by John (Article #239)

Finally, for the luv of gawd, can we please put to rest the moronic notion that parody author owe royalties to original authors??!

I understand that Fair Use is a debilitatingly simple concept. You see, if I remake a work in a meaningfully different way, such as a parody that insults an ethnic group in ways the original author would find vile, I probably don't owe the original author squat.

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Now, I was pretty sure when I took 400-level Commications Law in college that this was settled. Parody is protected. Period. And, big surprises here, the courts agree because every US court has always agreed with that interpretation. Jeepers.

But, rights owners a mean lot. To brutally paraphrase Upton Sinclair's famous line, it's hard to convince a man he doesn't have rights to content when his living depends on believing he does.

Seriously. Get into a shooting match sometime with an aggrieved rights owner. It's obnoxious. Also, they are the most self-sure critters roaming this planet (OK, maybe cats are a little more self-sure, but you get my point).

I don't know what it says about modern culture when we celebrate the perpetuation of established case law as a big victory. I guess. A win is a win. Especially when the enemy is this radicalized and fundamentalist.

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