Monday, June 18, 2007

Good Documentary, Bad Documentary

Good Copy, Bad Copy is a documentary about copyright law and creativity, decidedly on the free culture side, with a few cameos from MPAA/RIAA types, including someone from Bridgeport Music (oddly, the documentary really pulls the punch with that one, asking her how George Clinton feels about Bridgeport's stewardship of his music without mentioning the circumstances under which Bridgeport acquired its rights). Worth watching: segments on Russian pirates and Nigerian movie producers, both of which could have used a lot more development. A Nigerian vendor, for example, remarks that it's okay to pirate foreign films but not Nigerian ones, because the Nigerian producers police the marketplace, but we never hear how that works -- simple intimidation, or what? -- given that we've been told that there is no real Nigerian copyright law. It's a disjointed but watchable collection of interviews.

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