Cease and Desist: Freedom of Expression in the Shadows of Intellectual Property

Kembrew McLeod

doi:10.13008/2151-2957.1047

Poroi Nov 2003 Open Access

Cease and Desist: Freedom of Expression in the Shadows of Intellectual Property

Kembrew McLeod University of Iowa

Abstract

1 The first shot fired in the intellectual property wars -the first one I heard, at least -happened during a skirmish between Island Records and Negativland, the sound-collage collective.In 1991, the corporate goliath took aim at the group's record -titled, simply, U2 -and blew it off the face of the earth.As a nerdy, motley crew of San Francisco Bay Area artists, weirdoes, and computer programmers, Negativland wasn't even a blip on the pop-culture radar, leaving it an unlikely target for a major lawsuit.So what would prompt one of the "Big Seven" record companies (now four, controlling 80% of global record sales) to use its full legal and economic might against, essentially, the world's tiniest band?As you may have guessed from Negativland's album title, it made the mistake of sampling the music of U2: the crown jewel in Island Records' multi-platinum crown.Poroi, 2, 2, November, 2003England, and WHO GIVES A SHIT? Just a lot of wasted names that don't mean DIDDLEY SHIT!" To add insult to injury, Negativland also mixed in a speech by U2's lead singer, Bono, which made the self-important Nobel Peace Prize nominee sound pious and ridiculous. 14 The record was released with little fanfare on SST Records, a small independent punk-rock label.But within four days of its release, Island Records and U2's song publisher, Warner-Chappel, came knocking to serve legal papers. 2Recognizing that it was a small fish compared to this oceanic multinational corporation, Negativland sent out a press release that stated, "Preferring retreat to total annihilation, Negativland and SST had no choice but to comply completely with these demands." 3 Even though Negativland had a strong fair-use argument, primarily based on parody, it didn't have the resources to fight a prolonged court battle.Instead it agreed to a very unfavorable settlement, a decision that haunts it to this day.Negativeland seems never really to have recovered.

Journal: Poroi
Published: 2003-11-01
DOI: 10.13008/2151-2957.1047
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Open Access: OA PDF Gold
Topics: digital rhetoric
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Cease and Desist: Freedom of Expression in the Shadows of Intellectual Property

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