Does Copyright Deter Social Movements?

A great example of your point is the difficulty that independent film makers experience in clearing the rights to music used in their films - especially for documentaries. This issue was given publicity when EMI asked for $10,000 to include a cell phone ringtone in the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom (see http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/16/movies/16rams.html?scp=1&sq=hidden%20cost&st=cse). Documentaries' role as a force for social change is impeded by the often exorbitant cost of including any sort of non-public domain music in the movie, especially when the music is integral to the story being told by the documentary.

-- ElizabethDoisy - 11 Mar 2009