Re: Fwd: FNV-RIAA IS CRACKING DOWN

["Dennis W. Leas" <dennis@mdbs.com>]

Edward_Chang@mail.amsinc.com wrote:
> 
> What do y'all think about visual artists who use collage-type techniques 
>in
> their work?  For example artists (whose names I won't list here) who use
> commercial advertisements, national icons, media characters, brand names,
> etc...  as part of a mixed media painting?  Or sculpture (I recall one
> friend who nailed a mangled MacIntosh keyboard into a piece of sculpture
> and burned it and then exhibited the remains)?  Would that person be
> obligated to ask Apple for permission?  I'd think that that's a rare (if
> ever) occurrence.  Is there 'theft of image' here?

Oh, you can BUY a Macintosh keyboard and exhibit it however you want.  I'm 
sure if you 
distributed 500 copies of your CD with a sample from say, somebody's CD 
"xyzqrt", lawyers for 
that somebody would not have problem if you had BOUGHT 500 copies of CD 
"xyzqrt" as a 'usage 
license'.  (Of course, lawyers have al sorts of other problems ;)  I'm NOT 
proposing this as a 
solution, you understand...

You bring up an interesting point.  If a producer 'samples' a brand name 
in a major motion 
picture by showing the star using the product, the brand owner typically 
pays for the 
advertising (by prior arrangement, of course) instead of sueing for 
payment.  See any 
inconsistency here?

- Dennis Leas