Creative Control: A Legal Matter

Copyright laws are set in place to protect the work of artists. Lawrence Lessig, a professor of law at Stanford argues that these restrictions destroy innovation because they do not allow people to build upon the past.

As Lessig explains in The Future of Ideas, a director of a movie must clear absolutely everything on the set with lawyers before showing the film. This includes items in the background that are never brought to the attention of the viewer but still may recognized.

The lawyers insist upon this control because the legal system has taught them how costly less control can be.

• The film Twelve Monkeys was stopped by a court twenty-eight days after its release because an artist claimed a chair in the movie resembled a sketch of a piece of furniture that he had designed.

• The movie Batman Forever was threatened because the Batmobile drove through an allegedly copyrighted courtyard and the original architect demanded money before the film could be released.

• In 1998, a judge stopped the release of The Devil’s Advocate for two days because a sculptor claimed his art was used in the background. These events teach the lawyers that they must control the filmmakers. They convince studios that creative control is ultimately a legal matter.

Interestingly enough, the main topic of Wired this month is remixing.

Everywhere you look, pop culture has been digitized, resequenced, and eassembled. Remixed. It started in music with hip hop samples and extended dance versions. It moved to movies, with director's cuts and Tarantino-style swipes from other films. Now it's spread to TV, games, music videos - even cars and fashion. From Kill Bill to Gorillaz, from custom Nikes to Pimp My Ride, this is the age of the remix.

Can we have an age of remix with the current Copyright Laws? Are these laws holding back the possibilities and envisionments of artists? Let’s not forget that even Picasso created master pieces from recycled newspaper and glue! ©