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Hooo boy, it is difficult to put into words what a terrible idea this is. /1 https://twitter.com/UNESCO/status/1251813037268402176
First, and most obviously, this is aggressively unconstitutional in the U.S. Full stop. No room for interpretation. /2
Second, I think the idea is...just poorly structured. So presumably the copyright would be held by the national governments (or some international body), with royalty payments redistributed to help developing countries? It's a 20 second quote, but it raises all sorts of issues./3
First, that would make some body responsible for enforcement. No matter how you feel about going after blatant copying, what about derivative works? What about copyright in software which has utilitarian, rather than artistic, purposes? /4
The latter shouldn't get copyright protection in the first place, but that's a separate discussion entirely. /5 https://www.niskanencenter.org/niskanen-center-joins-r-street-institute-and-public-knowledge-in-google-v-oracle-amicus-brief/
Second, how are we going to determine royalties? We have things like the Copyright Royalty Board for music, but what about buying the rights to make, say, a TV series from a book or another movie based in a franchise? /6
Do you trust whatever body becomes the rights holder to offer a license to @Disney, @20thcentury, @WarnerMedia on the same terms as they would to some upstart studio? If you do, I have the rights to a painting of a bridge to sell you. /7
But these are just the technical components to an idea offhandedly mentioned. Let's get to the heart of the matter: why allowing content to be in the public domain is also a subsidy. /8
I'm not an expert in international development, but having the royalties from, say, the Marvel franchise go to curing ringworm would probably be a positive. (P.S. there's nothing stopping @Disney, or any other large media company from doing this now.) /9
But letting content go into the public domain is also a benefit. If I don't have to pay to watch my favorite shows or movies, listen to my favorite songs, or read my favorite books, I've saved myself however much it would have cost to do those things. /10
I can afford to pay for this content, but if it's freely available all you need is an internet connection. (No small feat for many parts of the world, but certainly a savings). /11
This idea also whitewashes some truly egregious things the West, spearheaded by the U.S., has done by imposing our #IP policies on the developing world. South Africa is the most recent example. /12 cc: @BandJonathan https://theconversation.com/making-sense-of-south-africas-new-copyright-bill-and-us-trade-threats-128418
Of course, this pales in comparison to what we've done in the context of pharmaceuticals, but it's part of a larger pattern in U.S. trade relations: our chief export remains bad policy. (And they say we don't make things anymore.) /13
In our paper, @lindsey_brink & I argue for full legalization of derivative works, with perhaps some exceptions for adaptations (e.g. book to movie). I think this would be valuable for the developing world, & underrepresented communities in general. 14
Warning: I'm a cis-het-white dude about to talk about minority communities, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. All that being said, the dominant media landscape is ruled by the three Ws: white, western, and wealthy. /15
To use an example from my favorite franchise, @starwars, while the new movies are certainly more diverse, the good ones where very, very, white. As @redlettermedia put it: /16
The increase in diversity is a positive development, but large media companies can't really be counted on to really push the envelope in ways that are sorely needed. /17
Plus, let's face it: there are some really fantastic stories out there that are walled off. Old Disney movies, Lord of the Rings, the star wars OT, etc. If we allowed derivative works, not just to developing countries but also worldwide, we could have.../18
Gender-bending Harry Potter; all-minority Empire Strikes Back; hell, you could have a full reboot of every franchise under the sun. /19 https://afropunk.com/2020/02/magical-black-disney-princesses/
This would not only increase representation, but also allow minority-owned studios, casts, directors, etc. to benefit economically. Some of these studios will certainly be in the developing countries that would be on the receiving end of royalties in this half-baked plan. /20
Again, white guy talking about race, so take everything above with a grain of salt. But for all the talk about diversity & representation in Hollywood, this seems like a pretty good way to let underrepresented groups in on the action. /21
TLDR this idea is plagued w/ technical probs; it whitewashes how #IP policy has hurt the developing world; free access to content is also progressive (or rather, stops regressive policies); let underrepresented groups tell universal stories their way. /END
