Info/Law

I wrote before about why Apple might not prevail if it sued the maker of the “Hillary 1984″ video, which remashed a classic Apple commercial to attack Senator Clinton’s presidential candidacy. But I acknowledged that it was a close call.

This, however, is not a close call: Gina Rosenblum, who claims to own TV and movie rights to George Orwell’s 1984, is threatening to sue! Or, more precisely, her attorney says, “We’re not filing [a lawsuit] at this point; we’re monitoring the situation.”

Here is something for you to monitor, Ms. Rosenblum: you have no claim whatsoever. Other than the use of “1984″ in the title (and titles cannot be copyrighted) and the tag line (a mere reference to the book, also entitled to no protection), I see nothing in the video that refers to the book directly. The general atmospherics and mise-en-scene could be described as “Orwellian,” but that isn’t direct enough even to approach infringement. If this claim were valid, then literary references would cease to exist.

This one definitely belongs in the Rightsholder Overreaching Hall of Shame.

[UPDATE:  Bill Patry has more.]

Filed under: Copyright, Digital Media, Internet & Society, Media, Peer Production, Video, Voting