ARTS

HOW LAWYERS HAVE FOULED UP CULTURE

VAL ROSS, GLOBE & MAIL - Thanks to spiralling copyright licensing costs,
payable to whoever holds the copyright (unions, archives, creators,
corporations) -- and thanks, too, to the rising cost of insurance to
protect against copyright claims -- more and more public film footage is
no longer available to the Canadian public, nor for use by Canadian
creators. . .

The Copyright Clearance Culture and Canadian Documentaries, written by
Ottawa copyright lawyer Howard Knopf, cites many eyebrow-raising cases.
An example: Quebec filmmaker Sylvie Van Brabant's film Remous/Earthwalk
has been withdrawn from public circulation because its main character
sings 30 seconds of a recognizable tune whose rights the National Film
Board has deemed too expensive to renew.

The cost of paying to use archival footage has been increasing, in part,
the white paper notes, because underfunded institutions such as the
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and NFB have taken to using licensing fees
as a revenue source. Filmmaker Avi Lewis was told that it would cost him
$187.50 per second for CBC footage of his own grandfather, former NDP
leader David Lewis, uttering the phrase "corporate welfare bums." The
younger Lewis backed off. . .

The DOC has also sent the Departments of Heritage and Industry a letter
-- signed by more than 130 filmmakers, including Oscar-winner Denys
Arcand and Emmy-winner John Kastner -- urging that Ottawa's forthcoming
copyright legislation incorporate the idea of fair use and users'
rights.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061206.wxcopyright06/
BNStory/Entertainment/home

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