Brand name bullies : the quest to own and control culture / David Bollier.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bollier, David.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Intellectual property--United States.

Intellectual property.

United States.

Popular culture--United States.

Popular culture.

Physical Description:

x, 309 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Hoboken, N.J. : J. Wiley, [2005]

Summary:

The stories would seem silly, embarrassing, or flat-out hilarious, if they weren't so frightening: ASCAP trying to charge the Girl Scouts for the rights to sing songs around a campfire; J.R.R. Tolkien's estate threatening to sue a children's entertainer for calling himself "Gandalf the Wizard Clown"; the J.M. Smucker Company accusing a competitor of infringing its patent on a crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And, if you want to poke fun at Mickey Mouse, Barbie, or Miller Lite, you'd better have a battery of lawyers to back you up.

In Brand Name Bullies, David Bollier reveals the countless ways in which creativity, innovation, and free expression in American culture are under relentless assault from a new and rapacious breed of corporate bullies. He offers scores of examples of how copyright and trademark owners are using political influence, high-powered attorneys, and out-and-out intimidation to expand their control over our culture.

Bollier argues that the free flow of knowledge and ideas is crucial to creativity and progress in every field. Yet this essential ability to share and build upon the work of others is being stifled, marginalized, and criminalized by the forces of privatization. He cites numerous out-rageous claims of "ownership" to all sorts of images, words, musical notes, letters, and even smells. Did you know that it is illegal to name a sporting event the "Gay Olympics" or a portable toilet business "Here's Johnny!"?

The drive to copyright and trademark virtually everything has a powerful impact on public discourse as well. Bollier uncovers attempts to lock up sports scores, bestseller lists, historic facts, and even Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Beware of using the phrase "Freedom of Expression"! A Massachusetts college student has already applied for and received a registered trademark for those words.

Brand Name Bullies makes a powerful case that the rapid and ongoing expansion of "intellectual property rights" is squelching creativity and limiting free expression. It prevents the creation of new music, art, and literature, and it inhibits new scientific research and business investment. This highly readable and chilling expose sounds an urgent wake-up call for everyone who values our culture and wishes to keep the public domain out of the hands of the privatizers.

Contents:

Art and culture: use only as directed

Trademarking public life

The copyright wars against an open society

Absurd new frontiers of control.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 289-290) and index.

ISBN:

0471679275

OCLC:

55948072