Copyright threats to documentaries
p2pnet.net News:- Instead of being a preserver, copyright is now a killer. In the 21st century, venal corporate entertainment cartel interests use outmoded copyright laws to savage their own customers. But that’s far from being the end of the scandal.
“Avi Lewis has a sadly ironic copyright story,” states the Canadian Documentary Organisation (DOC), quoting him as saying:
“For The Take, I wanted a clip of my grandfather’s most famous phrase: Corporate Welfare Bums, from a stump speech in the 1972 election campaign. It would have cost me $187.50 per second to buy back my own family history. Our public broadcaster, under relentless and damaging financial pressure, has long been forced to treat its precious publicly funded archives as a market-driven revenue source. David Lewis coined that famous phrase in the public interest. CBC kept it at public expense and in the public interest, and I wanted to use it in the public interest. But that history was out of reach for our publicly funded documentary.”
And ….
“Québécoise filmmaker Sylvie Van Brabant cannot get a copy of her own film, Remous Earthwalk, produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Her main character sings a scant 30 seconds, a cappella, of a recognizable song,” says DOC. “The rights have been deemed too expensive to renew and the film has been pulled from circulation.”
These are just two examples of how spiralling copyright licensing costs, “payable to whoever holds the copyright (unions, archives, creators, corporations),” as well as, “the rising cost of insurance to protect against copyright claims,” mean more and more public film footage is no longer available to the Canadian public, nor for use by Canadian creators, says a report in The Globe & Mail.
DOC is, “deeply concerned about how current copyright laws hamper the production and distribution of documentary films,” says executive director Samantha Hodder. “The regulations now in place increase costs and limit the use of visual materials and music thereby restricting artistic freedom and threatening our cultural heritage.”
The organization has sent a letter to the ministers of Canadian heritage and industry along with a white paper, The Copyright Clearance Culture and Canadian Documentaries, written by Howard Knopf, detailing concerns on how changes to Canadian copyright law will impact their ability to make documentary films.
Documentary filmmakers need a law that not only protects films, “but allows us to access the material we need to create our films,” declares Hodder. “Without these key considerations, some documentary films will never get made and other films that form an important part of our cultural heritage will be pulled from distribution and lost forever.”
Signed by more than 130 Canadian film-makers, a DOC letter calls on Canada’s Conservative government to adopt balanced copyright policies that reflect the needs of documentary filmmakers.
It puts forward five “essential” proposals:
1. The concept of ‘fair use.’ The Supreme Court has recently recognized that copyright users have rights. DOC encourages the government to recognize the importance of users` rights and the freedom of documentary filmmakers to engage public space. The government must ensure that the ‘fair dealing’ provisions of the copyright act respect not only authors rights, but encourage the creation of new rights by respecting users` rights as well. Copyright protections offered to authors, such as advertisers, are not absolute. Copyright holders should not be able to stifle the creation of other works. The rights that are provided in the copyright law must be balanced against society`s need to have access to those works. This includes logos, slogans, video display.
2. Protect creativity, not technology. Currently the government is considering the notion that copyright can be protected by creating technological barriers, such as digital locks, to protect software. These barriers are known as digital rights management (DRMs) and technological protection measures (TPMs). These locks could have the reverse effect of granting censorship powers to media companies. Should documentary filmmakers have to pay extra to get access to footage because the source, such as a DVD, is protected by a technological lock? If it is in the public interest to permit reproduction of a clip, it must also be in the public interest to allow access to the clip.
3. Reform the ‘unlocatable copyright owner’ system. The government should reform the legislation that grants licenses to filmmakers who want to use material in the cases where the original copyright owner cannot be located.
4. Move away from the ‘clearance culture’. Contemporary rights clearance practices have a disproportionately detrimental impact on documentary filmmakers. Many uses of Intellectual Properties in documentary films do not require clearance. Where clearance is required, documentary films are often held ransom by overreaching demands of copyright owners. The government should explore ways to address these failings of the current copyright system. Censorship by Copyright, a recent internal DOC survey notes that 82% of documentary filmmakers feel that copyright laws actually discourage them from making documentaries films.
5. Improve accessibility to public archives. Government should provide secure and stable funding to public archives to encourage easier, more affordable access to the memories they hold. Our publicly fed archives are the keepers of our shared national heritage. Due to budget cutbacks, many ofthese treasures have been turned into a revenue source. As archival footage of Canadian history becomes more expensive, fewer documentaries reflecting our past will be produced.
Also See:
The Globe & Mail – Classic docs sent back to the vault, December 6, 2006
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