Does Copyright Deter Social Movements?

Well, does copyright deter social movements? My own unsupported suspicion is that copyright might be one of the least clever ways to put down a social movement--a fair use smackdown and terrible publicity are almost guaranteed. John McCain? might beg to differ as to certain web ads, but those were cases more of reproduction than of adaptation.

As to the chilling effects of the public performance right: did none of us learn "Happy Birthday" as a child? Some of us even learned the Macarena (over which, as the article points out, ASCAP could not have and never did threaten the Girl Scouts). The "Happy Birthday" problem is more a threat to singing waitstaff than to chances that songs will be known or taught in a non-profit or "social" context. 17 USC 110(4).

-- DanielHarris - 10 Mar 2009