It started out as the story of my lawsuit with the mouse. At first, I was going to call it "Mickey and Me" but, as I talked to others facing run-ins over copyright, it turned out to be about so much more than just my story. This is a video about the struggle between free expression and private 'intellectual' property. It all centers on the right to 'quote'. --Jed Horovitz
Willful Infringement. DVD $49.99. But you can also watch it online (donation requested). This flick is not going to get much press exposure in the mainstream, so I thought I'd round up some reviews here. Please let me know (by leaving a comment) if you run across any other reviews, and I'll add them here.
There is a Blogcritics thread.
Excessory blog says:
I just got finished watching a great documentary on Copyright Infringement. The DVD focused on how corporations once again are playing the wonderful and greedy part of the ultimate lamo! Specifically, how they're systematically killing off Fair Use and artistic and common expression. I thought it was very, very good. You should check it out before Disney's legal team sues them (no, seriously! you should get it before it's gone and they get sued).
Willful Infringement is a feature film about the ways that copyright has harmed free expression and creativity. The movie features clowns talking about the legal threats they got for twisting balloon-animal Barneys, Negativland conspiracists discussiing life after being crushed for making music out of samples, as well as lots of legal geniuses and iconoclasts talking about how we got here and where we're going. I was interviewed for this flick, but I didn't make the cut I saw (who knows if I made it to the DVD?). The movie is now out on DVD — in glorious infringe-o-rama, sure to be removed form the market in short order. Get your copy while you still can! At $50, the price-tag is a little steep, but it's a fascinating watch.
Author and law professor Lawrence Lessig says:
get it while you can Jed Horovitz has produced an extraordinary film about the 'culture wars' which may well not be around for long. You can get Willful Infringement on DVD. Many people should. When the lawyers find this, we'll need archives stored in many places. (Note: the web page says I'm in the film, but only for a few seconds. The really great characters are two clowns.)
Article comments
1 - Greg
from: techne.net/movabletype/desiderata
July 28, 2003
Movies
The laws have changed
Last Wednesday, Jay and I saw the documentary Willful Infringement at the Roxie in San Francisco. Lawrence Lessig, the Stanford law professor and author, spoke before and after the movie.
Both the documentary and Lessig advocated a retreat from the stifling intellectual property laws in which our culture is currently in the grip. Both made the case that creativity and free speech are impossible when the threat of lawsuits by content creators and copyright holders hangs over the heads of artists and writers.
As Lessig pointed out, he would be perfectly happy with the restrictions on the use of copyrighted materials in place when Nixon was president. In the intervening years, thanks to the DMCA and similar legislation, media companies have seen their effective rights greatly enhanced.
I'm personally waiting for an outrage index, a measurement of when the average person gets sick and tired of having her behavior monitored and controlled by large corporations.
Posted by ian