It may look like an entirely different issue, but I’d argue vigorously that the flap over quoting from the published SBL Seminar Papers bespeaks the same chilling effects that now are afflicting my friend and colleague, Mary Hess.
Read her tale of woe and intrigue for a fuller account, but the short version runs thusly: Mary has written a scholarly book on the relation of popular culture to theological education. Unfortunately, the legal department at her publisher has advised that she must not only remove all the quotations from song lyrics that she was using as chapter headings, but that she must altogether remove all quotations from popular music.
Remove the quotations of song lyrics — from an academic book about song lyrics?!
In what conceivable sense could Mary’s book be construed as a departure from the strictest fair-use precedent? And what possible baneful effects could come down on songwriters from Mary’s quoting their work? I can see it now: “CD sales plummet, sheet music profits disappear, as musicians buy copies of a critic’s scholarly essay on theological education and pop culture.”
This kind of IP-intoxication demonstrates the utter poverty of the present tottering ideology of copyright, an ideology that tries to restrict the prerogative to quote from publicly published works, an ideology that extends copyright beyond any intelligible “promotion of the progress of science and useful arts.”
Posted by AKMA at September 29, 2004 09:25 PM | TrackBackDoes this mean I can no longer use Styx lyrics to title my blog posts?? And how many millions in back-fees do I now owe their lawyers?
Posted by: Reverend Ref at September 30, 2004 05:03 PMI told you that Styx was bad news, Reverend Sir. You’ll be hearing from their attorneys in the morning!
Posted by: AKMA at October 1, 2004 12:05 AMThat's what is known as the "ownership society."
Posted by: joseph duemer at October 1, 2004 02:01 PMDear Reverend Ref,
It has come to our attention that you recently used the trademarked name of our client in an internet posting. Please remove all references to the trademarked name "Styx (tm)" from your posting.
We would be willing to settle this infringement and dilution of our clients valuable trademark for $5,000, if you agree to purchase the entire RIAA CD collection at full retail value and sign this petition stating that Michael Jackson is a fine upstanding citizen.
Sincerely
I.P., Attorneys at Law
"That's what is known as the "ownership society."
No, that is what is known as the 'Rent Seeking Society' in which lawyers and political processes, rather than markets, and the method used to interact financially.
Posted by: Perry de Havilland at October 4, 2004 01:42 PM