Copyright. Pirating. Plagiarism. Lawsuits. Distribution rights.
This is the side of the business that I have no interest in. I’m not going to lie about it. It’s not that I don’t respect the importance of it, I really do. I just don’t want to get so caught up in legalities and things that I lose sight of why I love the creative side of the film industry. I know that may sound naive, and I won’t pretend that I won’t fight to protect my work, but I don’t want it to take over me.
That being said, the only part of copyright laws that intimidates me is the grey area people don’t seem to know how to approach. It makes me want to learn how to operate within those areas without compromising my creative voice or taking advantage of someone else’s.
This is the age of the meme and the .gif. Anyone can create pieces from others work that speak to so many people on infinite different levels. A 2 second clip from a movie, with a line spoken in it can bring up memories or spark laughter. Is that copyright infringement? Technically, yes. It is. So why hasn’t Warner Brothers or Paramount gone after the people who make or share these? It’s just my opinion, but I think it’s because it doesn’t hurt them. In fact, it brings about more publicity for them if they go viral. Not many people make memes or gifs that make the films look bad, or that earn money. So it’s not really in the studios interest to go after them.
That being said, I can see why they do go after some people. In class we heard about the girl at the festival who posted a video on her blog with the festival logo and a DJ’s tracks in the background. She got sued, by the festival and the DJ. If her blog was monetised, I completely see why she got sued. If she didn’t say who the DJ was or what the festival was, I agree with her being sued. In regard to the memes and .gifs people make of films, you have to credit the studio for anything you use of theirs. Look at Buzzfeed, they use them in almost every post they make, and they have huge readership, but they credit whoever’s content they use in those memes. These things make a huge difference, and can be the difference in getting sued for more money than we’re worth, or simply making a few people’s day.
