Copyrighting the President

[DBoon]

From Wired:

Does Big Media have a vested interest in protecting Bush? You betcha.

The US president owns neither his words nor his image - at least not when he speaks in public on important matters. Anyone is free to use what he says, and the way he says it, to criticize or to praise. The president, in this sense, is "free." But what happens when the commander in chief uses private venues to deliver public messages, holding fewer press conferences and making more talk-show appearances? Who controls his words and images then?

...

In August, Robert Greenwald will release an updated version of his award-winning film, Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War. Greenwald has added a clip of President George W. Bush's February interview with Tim Russert on Meet the Press, NBC's Sunday morning talk show. In the clip, the president defends his decision to go to war - astonishingly unconvincingly.

Greenwald asked NBC for permission to run the one-minute clip - offering to pay for the right, as he had done for every other clip that appears in the film. NBC said no. The network explained to his agent that the clip is "not very flattering to the president."

By Lawrence Lessig, one of the best minds in the field of intellectual property law.

See: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.08/view.html?pg=5?tw=wn_tophead_5

[olddem43]

1. What the president, or any public official says

on a nationwide broadcast should not be able to be copyrighted. If that's the law, it should be changed.

[ljm2002]

2. Yikes

Greenwald asked NBC for permission to run the one-minute clip - offering to pay for the right, as he had done for every other clip that appears in the film. NBC said no. The network explained to his agent that the clip is "not very flattering to the president."

Silly me, I thought that when a U.S. President speaks on the public airwaves, in whatever venue, what is said belongs to the public.

We truly have become America, INC.

You and I? "Consumers". Think you're a "citizen"? Get over it. That's so, like, 20th century. Citizens are not to be trusted -- a scruffy, unruly, dangerous bunch. They have, you know, ideals. Not at all trustworthy. UnAmerican in fact. We ought to just trust George in everything he does, just have faith that he'll make the right decisions (pops gum).

Geesh.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Is it just the video clip that's copyrighted, or the words too?

If the former, then he should get an actor (Will Ferrell would do it for free, I'd suspect) to impersonate Dubya - and put in something saying 'NBC refused to give us the real clip, because they say it would embarrass Bush'. Ridicule can be effective too.