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Lucasfilm Sanctions Star Wars Fan Films
BigBragger sent us a story that talks about a deal between Lucas and Atom Films to allow Star Wars parodies to be distributed legally. It's a mixed bag: Lucasfilm gets a piece of the pie, and gets to choose what goes online at the site. But it does create an official place to get those vid clips like Troops which are just awesome but somewhat underground. I guess as long as they don't go after other parodies I'm cool with it, but there's something that I can't describe about this leaving a funny taste in my mouth. It's probably just paranoia.
Welcome to the future, or rather, the future many warned was coming but is in fact, here today. In this future, the reality in which we live today, you can be arrested and thrown in jail for writing code that allows you to view movies you lawfully purchase on your computer. Land of the free?
Now, apparently, you can't poke fun of a rich guy or the creations that made him rich, without helping to further enrich him. So what's next? Will MAD magazine have to pay the makers of every movie they parody? Will I have to fork over a chunk of change to George Bush every time I say "Read my lips" in a facsimilie of his voice?
This is insane and George Lucas should be ashamed of himself. How utterly pathetic that someone who has so much, feels inclined to take even more. Yes, behold a mighty democrat, someone who certainly appears to be a "liberal" being nothing more than a two bit facist. It's obvious now why the last Star Wars movie sucked so badly. The maker no longer has a soul and thus, his creation lacks one now as well.
More hipocricy, more greed, and these are the people who back political figures. Who really wonders at all why things have gotten to be what they are in this country? Pathetic. We have a representative government alright, it represents perfectly what we Americans, as a people have become. Rich, fat, bloated hipocrites, who will do whatever it takes to safe guard "mine" no matter who we step on, rob from, extort, kill, or destroy in the process.
"Through many lives I've searched in vain, for the builder of this house of pain.
Now builder you are plain to see and from this house at last I'm free.
I burst the rafter roof and walls, and dwell in the peace beyond them all."
Peace and freedom to those who see beyond the delusion of "self". For those who serve this cruelest of masters, your desires will never be realized and your appetite will never be satisfied. You will look and not find, and listen, but not hear, and your death will be a bitter one full of regret. Silly, foolish men.
Has anybody heard anything new about that Australian prequel?
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You can use copyrighted materials all you want provided it is in critique or parody. They both come under fair use. This is just George Lucas going on a power trip. What else is new? Didn't he do this a few years ago with fanfic sites? Maybe he should stop to think that fanfic and parody are what keep starwars interesting and alive after all of these years. That crap he pushed out as "episode one" certainly isn't doing anything.
-matt
Can somebody explain to me why LucasFilms has any right to say somebody cannot parody them? I was sort of under the impression that works of parody were protected, and couldn't be stopped just because the original author didn't like it.
Or have we just given up and bent over to take it up the ass from LucasFilms because they can pay lawyers more in a day than most people make in their lifetimes?
-[Blaine]- "'Oh dear,' says God, 'I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic."
TSR tried something similar way back in the day. They essentially said that anything created for use with their D&D game, whether it was a world, a city, a character, a weapon description, or a module, was their property. Their "compromise" with their fans was to provide a web site for fans to post content on; they declared that any content posted anywhere else was a violation of their copyright.
This site is not being represented as the only sanctioned place for fan films to be placed, but I betcha money that's how it will end up. Let LucasFilm get financially involved, let the site make a few bucks, and then start looking for the cease and desist orders. LucasFilms will say "Hey, be cool, we've got a site for you to put your stuff on!" And Troops-alikes will be no more...
... regardless of what we have come to accept as true, parodies are NOT universally protected under copyright law, especially when it is financially expedient to bow down to a copyright holder just because their law firm is bigger than your own and they threaten you.
What a shame.
It's not paranoia, it's a legitimate concern. Parodies are considered fair use of copyrighted material. You don't need permission to do one. Distribution of these short films is already legal. Lucas doesn't need to sanction it. It needs to be emphasized that while it's nice to have Lucas's blessing, it is most definitely not required.
Free Hans!
By agreeing to their terms (for good or bad) you get access to extra shots and images that you may not have had access to if you weren't a "partner"
I'm not saying that this is a good/bad thing, just something. The question I have is do you have to sign away the copyright to the parody to get access to the extra footage?
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From: Aaron "PooF" Matthews
IIRC Lucasfilm is NOT the MPAA.
"I don't need a compass to tell me which way the wind shines." - Mr. Furious, Mystery Men
This is just plain not correct.
Fair use is copyright law. You can use copyrighted material in a parody all you want. However, trademarks are still protected. Sometimes they can be used in parodies, sometimes not. If you're diluting the trademark, you can't. If you don't meet the "contradictory message" standard, you can't.
Slashdot's token middle-aged housewife
It probably is.
While parody is properly exempt from the usual copyright restrictions, trademark isn't.
There's a pretty good explanation of it here. Googling for "trademark parody" will get a lot more.
Slashdot's token middle-aged housewife
You must have seen that Java applet and Java script that runs an ASCII version of the whole Star Wars films.
Episode IV can be found here
The Death of Jar Jar can be found here (Very popular I imagine)
It would be great for Lucas to endore it, if only for it to gain a wider audience. It really is a work of art in itself.
I know its not strictly a parody, more someones warped sense of humour, but it made me laugh.
Also note that the article doesn't say anything about taking royalties from the film makers, it only mentions advertising and sponsorship revenue.
Ok.. I just checked the acutal law and there is nothing in it mentioning pariodies, but there have been several Suprime Court cases. Go to http://www.publaw.com/parody.html for a good discussion on the topic of parodies. Also check out Copyright Law of the United States of America
-After you read, then post
I wonder when Jar Jar is going to get arrested on Troopers?
[ ]
Personnaly I like the idea. Instead of trying to fight parodies they are saying they can take a joke and are supportting artists that parody them. It's better than them trying to shut down parody sites to "protect" the Star Wars name.
And if LucasFilm doesn't like the UNOFFICIAL homes, they can go to hell. Parody is specifically outlined in Fair Use.
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V114/N 12/ briefs1.12w.html
So all you Star Wars fans out there who have a great idea for a parody, put it out there. To hell with LucasFilm and their lawyers. George Lucas isn't motivated by anything but money. Take an excerpt from the article:
The two companies will bow the Star Wars Fan Film Network at the end of the month on AtomFilms' site, which will not only showcase the projects from unknowns but split any royalty payments based on the advertising and sponsorship revenues generated from the selected films.
The only reason LucasFilm is buddying up with them, is because it pops a little cash into their pocket. They're profiting from works they didn't create.
AtomFilms is accepting submissions, and a team of Lucasfilm judges will determine which shorts are placed online.
If a submission is rejected OR accepted, put it up elsewhere! Don't give LucasFilm money they don't deserve! I'm willing to bet the creators of the parodies and/or documentaries won't see a dime of that ad revenue. Sure, their work is online, but you don't need AtomFilms/LucasFilm for that.
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon? :P)
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't.
Yes, non-sanctioned parodies are still legal. What's happening here is that Atom Films makes some revenues from films on their site (banner ads, etc), and Lucasfilm wants a cut of that. Since they'd be getting revenue partly from the Star Wars name. It's mutually beneficial to both of them; Lucasfilm gets $$, AtomFilms gets to use the Star Wars name. So, if you want to create a parody and put it up on your own site, or some other site, that's fine. Go ahead. But if you want to put it on AtomFilms, Lucasfilm gets their share of the $$, and some control over what gets to use the official "seal of approval".
"This message is composed of 100% recycled electrons."
Check it out online at TheForce.net here. Basically, it is a parody of stormtroopers on the job, done in the style of COPS (the TV show).
.plan.
Some day I hope to have a
Portable versions of Firefox, GIMP, LibreOffice, etc
I was under the impression that Lucas had always allowed people to make and distribute fan artwork, games, models video clips etc as long as they didn't charge for them? There was never a question of legality with troops, as far as I konw. Lucas just happend to love that one clip (hell who didn't??) so he contacted them to thank them. It would be frightening to think this may have set his precedent for "allowed" parodies. I just hope he doesn't become kindof like Disney, who constantly goes after parodies that should be legaly protected under fair use.
You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.
...it leaves a funny taste in your mouth. Lucasfilm would like everyone (including our government) to believe that we need their permission to use the words "Star" and "Wars" in the same sentence. In reality, parody is a protected form of speech, which people can engage in without the permission of those being parodied. Just ask Weird Al Yankovik. After that, you can ask him how many times he's had to legally defend himself from jealous or offended pop stars and their rabid attorneys, and how many times he has kept his right to parody.
If Lucasfilm controls what parodies are allowed, do you think that anything beyond delicately poking fun would be permitted? What if you have another "Star Wars meets South Park" type of idea and you want to distribute it. Do you think Lucasfilm will give their blessing, no matter how funny it is?
It's time for Hollywood and Lucasfilm in particular to be reminded that we live in a country in which personal freedom is more important that a corporation's ability to make money. Actually, it's about time for a lot of people to be reminded of that.
Dave
If you build a man a fire he's warm for a day,
If you set a man on fire he's warm for a lifetime.
-- Unknown
The way I read it, this will be the "official" SW parody site. LucasFilms cannot restrict parody, that fair use right has been upheld by the supreme court. What they can do is work with parodyists whom they like in order to make the "official" website.
LucasFilms gets some advertising money from the deal, so does Atom Films. The parodyists get exposure. No unauthorized or unapproved parodies will be restricted, they just won't be hosted on the "official" site. They are actually throwing their support behind the people who make good parodies. That sounds great to me.
Don't forget that Friday is Hawaiian shirt day.
We now return you to your scheduled paranoid ranting.