Lessig German interview re Copyright

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Duration: 10 minutes and 22 seconds

Country: Germany

Language: German

License: CC Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

Genre: Documentary

Views: 1,251 (274 embedded)

Posted by: mlsmolens on Jun 8, 2007

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[METROPOLIS]
[♫ Electronic music ♫]
Creativity
always
builds
on the
past
[♫ Electronic music ♫]
The European copyright laws should become the constitution of the the future.
But critics just see the people from the media who want to secure their interests.
The copyright laws reach to the point of private activities
but culture has always been copied and transformed
which basically means: sampled.
A subject that has earned our attention.
We know that in this age everything is so-called free, or can be free,
but we also know that it shouldn't be free because then nothing new will be produced.
So we would rather pay a fair price and determine
what we consider fair.
[♫ Electronic music ♫]
The film producer Cay Wesnigk struggled through all the intricacies of copyright laws.
A maker-- "C'est la vie" --that searches through all practical resolutions.
[Lawrence Lessig, Lawyer for Stanford University]
Right now it is impossible for normal people to be creative and stay within the law,
unless you go into the woods and film birds or something like that and you hope
that they don't sing a famous melody.
[♫ Electronic music ♫]
How the media lobby uses the copyright to limit the free internet
and what that has to do with culture Lawrence Lessig will explain to us.
Author and Initiater of a new internet culture.
[♫ Electronic music ♫]
Many artists would appreciate a freer exposure to their work,
[Meik Michalke, Initiator Open Musik Contest]
because through this they gain popularity.
Meik Michalke und the AstA from the university of Marburg.
They show how uncomplicated and effective alternative license models are spreading on the internet
and what they can do.
[gema haccen. For solidarity and free education.]
[♫ Music ♫]
We will start with Cay Wesnigk and his experience with copyrights as a freelance producer.
'Two hearts, I have in my chest,' on the one hand I am an author myself and would like to live from that
and would also like my copyrights to be respected, but on the other hand copyrighters always say:
[Cay Wesnigk, Filmproducer]
We are all standing on the shoulders of giants, that means there were people before us.
And I think we must find resolutions that allow us to use things previously published
for a certain fee. The payment, however, must be fair and limited.
In Europe, copyrights are valid for 70 years after the death of the copyright holder.
Then it is available for public use, as long as there is no legal hier.
At least 2 generations are kept from creative usage of the material.
[♫ Music ♫]
Someone like Cay Wesnigk who wants to use archived material to show how the Third Riech used propaganda
and art in films, needs along with patience: money or good credit.
The people that the copyrights belong to believe they are sitting on a sack of gold and it is extremely tough.
It is actually misappropriation of reality and the past.
Us artists can scarcely work with that because the price is simply to high.
And it is additionally aggravating when it involves music because it becomes more expensive.
[♫ Music ♫]
Take 'Hitlers Hit Parade' for example. Wesnigk invested 12 years in reviewing the rights and financing the film.
All for only one airing of the film, which was, by the way, on ARTE.
And us? We're not showing a single part! Because Metropolis can also only afford to pay a small licensing fee.
After the airing on Arte, the only thing I could find out with the amount of money I had,
that some pirates put the film on a website and that it has already been watched 34.000 times.
In the end, no one benefited from it. I didn't, the two producers didn't, and the copyright holders
from the previous works certainly didn't gain anything either.
And all the people who deal with copyright laws also didn't gain anything.
For me that is the normative power of the factual. They should instead say:
Okay Wesnigk, we will work together. You sell the movie, and for the material you used from us, we will
take a small portion of the profits.
[♫ Music ♫]
Let's change to the world of new technologies.
The digital revolution has already reached the kid's rooms and 12 year olds are showing their parents how things work.
Blogs and YouTube. Production instead of consumption.
But who is going to explain to the lawmakers what that means for the cultural movement?
All too often, the media lobbyists are accusing the younger users of piracy.
[Lawrence Lessig, Founder of Creative Commons]
I think the laws we have now have not been properly thought through. The are a lot of companies in a panic
and they are holding on as tight as they can. They are moralizing
and acting as if what our kids are doing is immoral.
But the way our kids are handling culture is exactly the same way you and I dealt with it
when we were their age. It's only that they have new technology that we didn't.
What we should be focusing on is how to help the coming generation
in creative enterprises and to become creators.
[♫ Music ♫]
Also, he could become a challenger of the media giants.
My pirate-kid. A camera-man. Do you want to be on TV?
[Wanna work together?]
'Creative Commons' A licensing model developed by Lawrence Lessing shows
that through the Internet, an alternative exposure to creative properties is possible.
The main idea: The copyrighter keeps only a couple of the rights.
With 'Creative Commons' the individual can decide if, for example, they want to allow the copying of material,
and whether or not commercial usage is allowed.
It is a simple and binding way for people to exchange creative ideas with one another.
We are trying to improve the cultural environment
by showing new ways of sharing and developing new ideas;
and that is with the least amount of laws. This is the basic idea of free culture.
The small revolution is right on the doorstep.
[♫ Music ♫]
♫ It is getting bigger in the past few years. I think that's why we are here today. ♫
[♫ Reggae ♫]
Also for a free culture is the band 'Jammin Ink', who always publish under a free license.
They were invited by the AstA Marburg.
♫ My creative property. His creative property. His creative property. ♫
♫ Its a gift for you all, and nobody can get in the way. Fees charged 'cause that's how the world really is. ♫
[♫ Hip Hop ♫]
♫ Revolution, throw your fists in the air! Revolution ... ♫
A message that wants to change things. The more people that join the 'Creative Commons',
the truer the network stays.
Be smart! See what's happening out there!
[Meik Mischalke, Initiator of OpenMusicContest]
Don't let the government make decisions behind your back
and wait until you get a letter from a lawyer because you posted the lyrics from a song you like
on your tiny little homepage. Rather, get yourself involved in what's happening.
Look at the alternatives available!
[♫ Music ♫]
In order to spread the idea, the Marburgers organized a music competition.
Eligibility requirements: Good music under a free license
The winning bands were put on a CD sampler, which was paid for by Lawrence Lessig.
If I name the license, I can put it in my blog.
[♫ Ska ♫]
And from there, 'Ska and Peace' are jamming for a relaxed audience. From blog to blog. From podcast to podcast.
Completely legal through the internet.
The idea is that 'Creatives Commons' will establish itself as a free cultural platform.
If there are enough people who will participate.
[♫ Ska ♫]
For newcomer bands like 'Cellar Door' could this way be more profitable than the usual way?
[♫ Hip Hop ♫]
Back to the movie industry.
Too many movies are waiting in archives to been seen.
One reason is that nobody is able to, or wants to, pay the overcharged license fees. And the other reason is
and that is tough for the industry, because more people prefer to use the internet.
In the internet they can chose to put an individual program.
[♫ Music ♫]
That is why ONLINEFILM.org was invented; a platform, where you can watch documentaries starting this fall.
For a little fee, the Initiator Cay Wesnigk assures. And that money is going straight to the copyright holder.
[♫ Electronic music ♫]
For the digital usage of products you have to pay.
[Cay Wesnigk, Filmproducer]
You also have to pay for it even if you can get it illegally.
It is the same as buying fair trade chocolate.
If you eat it, it is gone. But this movie you can copy and copy and copy again
and your buddies give you a lot of respect, when you put them on the Internet for downloading.
That isn't possible with chocolate. You can just eat it once.
We have to create a change of mind and further create a new justice of process.
Justice of process means that the artists
and that the people who made the movies get at least a little money for their work.
It doesn't have be a huge amount!
When the user has the feeling that he is paying too much, then he starts stealing.
[♫ Hip Hop ♫]
♫ Revolution! In Berlin and everywhere in the world! What's up? Oh yes! ♫
If the media industry does not wake up soon, and, especially, if the artists don't wake up
and see the neccesarity of a change to new laws, and, furthermore, achieve it,
there will be a revolution which is going to abolish all copyright laws.
The industry trying to keep up the old system reminds us of the Soviet Union in 1988.
Their stubburn insistence is based on a denial of the reality.
[♫ Electronic music ♫]
Culture is growing with the generations.
The copyright on our future is ours.
Further information on our website
[METROPOLIS]

Lessig German interview re Copyright

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