Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Banned Media: Parody or Copyright Infringement?

My brother told me about this hilarious web video that became popular last month, combining the classic Charle Brown Christmas special cartoon with Outkast's insanely popular tune "Hey Ya."

Hilarious, but illegal. Or is it? United Artists (who own the publishing rights to Charlie Brown and other characters by the late artist Charles Schultz) sent the creators of this video a cease-and-desist letter. Like most who get these threats, they took it off their website.

I'm so convinced this was wrong that if you ask me, I'll tell you where you can download the video. I'm also convinced that if you do so, you'll not hurt UA or Outkast (and especially not Charles Shultz, rest-in-peace) in any way.

What these guys created is called "Parody" and its protected under the U.S. Constitution. Or at least, it's supposed to be. At least until the 4 (soon 3) Media Titans convince the FCC that it's hurting them.

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posted by Brian at 5:02 AM

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