Copyright This!
Director: Sanjay Bhangar; Cinematographer: Sooraj Ravindran
Duration: 00:34:57; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 178.669; Saturation: 0.016; Lightness: 0.347; Volume: 0.284; Cuts per Minute: 21.569; Words per Minute: 100.235
Summary: Sanjay Bhangar and Sravanthi K spent a few days in Shivaji Nagar and at National Market looking at the 'digital moment' and what it has meant for local economy and world information. They ended up with a footage bank, comprising of pirate dvds and vcds, shots of cyber cafés and shop fronts offering dtp, call center training, and language translation facilities, and spot interviews with vendors and owners. An interview with Shivaji Nagar local and renegade IP law-breaker L. Liang in Hindi, shot with a rather 'odd' frame formed the backbone of the film. Footage of ITPL, Forum Mall, the World Info poster campaign, google image searches and a gleaning of Alternative LawForums's CD compilations on IPR, combined with other interviews and visuals from the footage bank, and manic editing by Sooraj Ravindran and Shaina resulted in COPYRIGHT THIS.
Hightlights include Helen vs Truth Hurts vs Lata Mageshkar-remixed and the animated Mr. Liang.
Bangalore
IPR
altlawforum
bangalore
For local cable TV
piracy
Shots of FBI Warning against piracy, a sign saying "Terrorists use pirated DVDs to fund their campaigns" and an Anti-Piracy sign cut in quick succession.
FBI Warning
anti-piracy
terrorism
American flag
I'm George Putman. I'd like to begin with a fact. A simple, yet shocking fact. The circulation of this material is the price we pay for freedom in this country.
Man standing in front of American flag.
circulation
freedom
GNN
George Bush
George Bush's face with music in the background.
(Both images and music taken from the film September 11th Redux produced by the Guerrilla News Network -
http://gnn.tv )
And so, without further ado, here it is ...
George Bush speaking in front of the White House interspersed with war footage and black market DVD / electronics sellers.
George Bush
To hunt down, to find, to smoke out of their holes - they hide in caves, we'll get 'em out.
smoke out
terrorists
National Market
CDs
Music gets faster, man leafing through pirated DVDs / VCDs, people entering and exitting National Market, Bangalore, old cassette tapes, shots of files being copied on a computer.
pirated movies
National Market, Bangalore
George Bush saying "Stop It"
George Bush
Stop It.
A Xerox machine throwing out a copy of a poster for the movie Tere Naam and a CD being burnt and taken out from the tray on a computer.
Tere Naam
copying
Clip from CNN with the line "America's New War" to shots of National Market
America's New War
CNN
National Market
National Market, Bangalore
NDTV footage of a police raid on pornographic films.
NDTV
police raid
pornography
A US fighter plane taking off to shots of war and war machinery, interspersed with shots of a police raid on a CD/DVD seller to shots signifying the digital moment in Bangalore - a DTP shop, inside a cybercafe, etc. Ends with lights going off inside National Market.
Bangalore
DTP
jet
war
Audio of Aamir Khan's voice (from the movie Rangeela) selling tickets in the black market outside a cinema hall. Video of George Bush.
Bolo bolo dus ka tees dus ka tees.
(ten rupee tickets for thirty...)
Aamir Khan
George Bush
Cut to Lawrence Liang, copyright Lawyer. Interview with Lawrence shot with empty space on the top left, which is used to do picture-in-picture and highlight things he is talking about.
The question that arises is What is going on here? Is this a crisis of property, or a crisis of law? Is this a crisis of morality, or is something else going on here? I always buy pirated CD's and DVD's. I dont feel I am doing anything morally wrong.
Copyright lawyer
Lawrence Liang
A judge banging his gavel, screaming.
Come to the point, come come come to the point!
Judge
courtroom
Lawrence Liang speaks. The video in the frame is of authorities censoring and stopping a screening of films by Vikalp .
Laws and newspapers are trying to tell me that this is immoral and illegal, but common sense tells me there is nothing wrong with this, there is something wrong with the larger system.
Lawrence Liang
Vikalp
system
Clip from Kill Bill, dubbed in hindi.
I may not possess pity, love or forgiveness but what I do have is common sense.
Kill Bill
Uma Thurman
Aamir Khan
Clip from Rangeela - Aamir Khan selling black tickets outside a cinema hall. Cut to a man selling pirated CDs.
Rangeela
Ten for thirty, ten for thirty...
"You want?"
"I dont want."
black tickets
Lawrence Liang speaks.
The focus tends to be on "What is piracy?" I am not interested in what piracy is. What interests me is what piracy does. What does piracy do?
piracy
Techno music, camera pans through shots inside National Market and the streets of Bangalore with people selling electronics and pirated wares.
National Market
What do you think piracy has done for the local population, including people like you? Do you think you would have been able to learn so much about music if it weren't for markets like this?
Shivajinagar, Bangalore
Talking to a local Radio Jockey outside National Market, Bangalore.
CD prices
Radio Jockey
Well, the source of information is always going to be TV or something, but when it comes to buying such stuff, the originals would be pretty expensive because they normally cost Rs. 345-495 for one CD. Even if it is a local Indian CD, you have to shell out about 150 bucks. When it comes to this place, it is available for 80 bucks or so, so its much easier to buy.
Talking to local musician / radio jockey, Hari. Entering his room, cut to talking to him about National Market / piracy .
Miller's Road, Bangalore
Traffic cone
mp3
music posters
villages
Would you say that places like National Market have increased access through cheaper DVDs and VCDs?
Yes yes. It's astounding, Sanjay, I travel a bit, I love to travel. I've gone to these way out villages in Tamil Nadu. There's towns where they actually sell mp3 CDs.
I've seen farmers come on scooters into the town, buy one mp3 CD full of Tamil film songs and get back. I asked him, "You have a player?". He said, "Yes, no problem, I got an mp3 player from Bangalore. It's there in my house and I can play whatever music I want. It's reached that guy. Now, if it has that kind of reach, I think it is something a lot of media, at present, is missing...
Techno music, shot of dish antenna on terrace.
No Entry
dish antenna
movie store
Yelahanka, Bangalore
Shivajinagar, Bangalore
cybercafe
Shots of CD covers at a movie rental store (zoom in to the movie No Entry).
Shots inside local cybercafes.
What about things like piracy?
- We don't encourage it, as you can see, this is an open place - we don't encourage piracy or pornography, absolutely not.
What about your own software?
- Yes, to be honest, it is pirated. You don't get original stuff these days.
Interview with cybercafe owner about pirated software.
piracy
But even if the originals were available, wouldn't it be quite expensive as compared to pirated?
Do you think you'd be able to afford to run a place like this, charging only 20 rupees an hour?
- We won't be able to, that's right. And its so easily accessible that nobody prefers to go in for originals.
Could Bangalore have become an I-T city without non-legal software?
Absolutely not. If you ask any of Bangalore's engineers where and how they learned their computer skills, you will get only one answer - all these people acquired their computer skills through non-legal software.
Interview with Lawrence Liang.
Shots in the frame are of small shops in Bangalore, then of the large I-T complexes coming up on the outskirts of the city.
Bangalore
I-T City
illegal software
How many colleges have original products? We don't know. Whether even the colleges, B Tech or BSC, are using original products - we don't know. But they are getting.
What about the student who wants to learn one particular software? He has his own computer. To learn, he can't invest 5 lakhs, right?
Interview with a computer training course instructor.
colleges
piracy
Shivajingar, Bangalore
Interview with Lawrence Liang.
Poster advertising
zoomshare.com in the frame.
Secondly, given the nature of the technology, it is absolutely impossible to control. Any lock you introduce, somebody will break it.
technology
Interview with computer institute instructor. He talks about how all products have a "crack".
How many products are still running without piracy? For all products, we have piracy. Some products provide hardware locks - it will work only if you put a lock on the port. For that also we have a crack. We can even manufacture that lock.
- But it's actually hardware?
Yes, hardware. It's nothing... in the hardware there is a circuit. If you match the circuit, it will work. That circuit if you are able to create...
wicitytv
Shivajinagar, Bangalore
crack
hardware locks
HELP! I need somebody,
Help! Not just anybody,
Help! You know I need someone.
Help...!
George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Bill Gates, anti-piracy images, Windows XP logo and a CD being burnt with "HELP!" by the Beatles.
Beatles
Bill Gates
Donald Rumsfeld
George Bush
Windows XP
help
Do you think anything can resolve this conflict?
- There is a temptation to look at the law with a liberal lens and believe that the law can resolve these issues. But I believe that the tension here is too high. The two sides are at such loggerheads. Resolution is difficult.
Interview with Lawrence Liang - talks about how he believes the tension in the current crisis is too high and the law will find it hard to resolve.
Images in the frame are of a video house in Bangalore and then footage of a raid on pirated materials.
copyright raid
crisis
law
Shot inside Elgin Cinema hall - hindi movie.
Elgin Cinema, Shivajinagar, Bangalore
Elgin cinema
Is this real or fake? Is this real or fake?
camera-print
Paul Keller walking outside National Market in Bangalore cut to shots of pirated CDs cut to images inside a movie theatre inside a shopping mall. Cut to random images of a computer screen and then of Bappi Lahiri, a giant cut out of a south Indian actor and then of Anu Malik. Audio plays in the background asking "Is this real or fake?"
Anu Malik
Bappi Lahiri
National Market
PVR
piracy
IIT
IT Corridor, Bangalore
ITPL
Shots of I-T parks on the outskirts of Bangalore, cut to interview with Lawrence Liang.
Shots in the frame of local cybercafes, DTPs, etc. and a giant hoarding saying "Who Owns Your Knowledge?"
This infrastructure of Bangalore as an IT city - a lot of it is built on non-legal media, and this is completely unacknowledged.
And now the same people are being called criminals?
Absolutely. And the other important point here is this - if you look at the history of India and the question of knowledge - who has access to knowledge? There are many exclusions. On the basis of gender - if you look at most of the IIT's and other engineering colleges, there are mostly male students. There are exclusions on the basis of caste - by and large, only upper caste people can go to engineering colleges. So, when it comes to this monopoly of knowledge, the hierarchies in India are already set.
In my mind, these non-legal technologies and media open a lot of avenues. It gives those who don't ordinarily fit into the knowledge economy a chance to participate on their own terms.
Whitefield, Bangalore
caste
hierarchy
knowledge economy
Talk with Hari, local musician / Radio Jockey, where he talks about how everyone he knows is "guilty" of "piracy" at some point or the other, and if the authorities were serious about implementing the law, they should just go ahead and arrest everyone.
What percentage of your friends would you say shop at National Market?
At some point or the other, 100% - everyone I know. That's why I say, if you're going to have a real anti-piracy drive, arrest the whole of Bangalore. Ya, arrest everyone, because right from shoes to clothes to CDs to DVDs to phone parts to TVs to stereo systems to whatever you can dream up, its available at National Market. A copy of whatever you want is available at National Market for 1/4th or 1/5th the price, minimum. So, why on earth wouldn't everyone, especially those with limited means of income, want to shop there?
Bangalore
CDs
DVDs
Millers Road, Bangalore
National Market
TVs
arrest everyone
clothes
shoes
stereo systems
piracy
My friends, it is time to make a decision - who's crime is this and who are we handing out punishment to? (Repeat)
Video of man selling pirated CDs / DVDs - overlaid with music.
crime
friends
punishment
If you read the newspaper, everyday on page 3, you will see stories of firstly murder, then rape, then of copyright raids, as if they are all one type of crime. Increasingly, you will see, there is a lot of anxiety over the issue of piracy.
Lawrence talking about news about copyright in the newspapers and its juxtaposition with stories of rape, murder, etc. as if they are all one thing.
The "frame in frame" has images on newspaper articles about copyright raids and footage from a TV "expose" on copyright violation...
copyright
newspapers
page 3
propaganda
paranoia
Cop: What is the source of this? Where do these CDs come from? Who gets them down? We are asking questions...
Anchor: Please tell us how you liked our program. SMS us on 6388. That's it for this week, but we'll be back next week with fresh new episodes from the world of crime.
Footage from Crime Patrol - a program on Sony Television & a report on copyright violation seizures from NDTV - dramatic music plays in the background.
NDTV
SMS
Sony Television
copyright raid
news anchor
police
Lawrence talking about this paradigm shift with relation to the attitude to copyright violation / sharing of information.
The "frame in frame" shows the "Good Question posters" (by Sebastian Lutgert):
'Why is copying called stealing even though the original does not disappear?'
Then of a people copying their thumb impressions on pieces of paper.
Then pictures of computer networks.
Then a picture of a pirate with text "Stop Piracy"
Then pictures taken from Creative Commons promoting sharing..
Then picture saying "Stop Piracy, Stop Crime"
Then picture saying "P2P - Peer to Peer File Sharing"
Then picture of the "copyleft" logo.
The underlying serious paradigm shift here is that these people are trying to change people's mind-sets, philosophically.
Taking the ethic of charing and making it illegal - this is a paradigm shift.
Think about it, if you buy a cassette from a shop and listen to it, what would you do if you liked the music? You'd give it to a friend. So, this is the ethic of sharing, which is connected to a wider network of social practices, social relationships like the relationship of care, friendship.
There are many ethical values involved here. Here they are saying that if you have a song, then sharing it via the internet is illegal, unethical, immoral.
This is a fundamental philosophical problem. We must absolutely oppose this logic.
Creative Commons
copying
copyleft
friendship
good question posters
networks
p2p
paradigm shift
sharing ethic
stealing
stop piracy
thumb impressions
Amitabh Bachhan delivering a famous speech from the movie "Main Azaad Hoon".
They want to kill the freedom inside me. They want to kill the freedom inside you too. But don't let them do that to you, no. Scream and say that you are free from all the pettiness that keeps human beings separated from each other. Scream that you are free from the ties and chains that keep slaves enslaved. And tell these people that by killing any one person, they cannot kill freedom. Freedom cannot die.
Amitabh Bachhan
Main Azaad Hoon
freedom
Lawrence talks about the scope that digital / non-legal distribution holds for films that deal with controversial issues.
Stills in the "frame in frame" from Godhra / the Gujarat massacre of '02, interspersed with images of CD burners.
Images of newspaper articles dealing with censorship, image of a film-screen showing a censor certificate.
Lawrence: A lot of films that deal with controversial topics can distribute themselves through non-legal mediums. It can be a very important tool for fighting censorship, for fighting bans.
Sanjay: Is this also a reason why the Govt. wishes to clamp down on it?
Lawrence: Absolutely. Because, if you look at Section 52A of the Indian Copyright Act, every DVD must have a Censor Certificate, just like films. In non-legal media, all this doesn't exist.
Indian Copyright Act
Section 52A
bans
censor certificate
censorship
non-legal media
PADMA10
A few years ago, when there were riots in Gujarat and the Hindu Right had a big role to play, A film maker called Rakesh Sharma had made a very important movie about the riots called Final Solution. The BJP Govt. banned this film. Rakesh Sharma distributed that film on CDs and told people to pirate it freely. That is one way of combating it.
Lawrence gives the example of Rakesh Sharma, who asked people to pirate his movie, Final Solution when the govt. banned it at the time of the Gujarat riots.
http://www.rakeshfilm.com/finalsolution.htm
Gujarat riots
Narendra Modi
Rakesh Sharma
Films for Freedom
Final Solution
Vikalp
This is a video made by Sanjay Bhangar, then 21 years old, who a few years later in 2007 co-founded CAMP with us. It was telecast on local cable, in our first collaboration with the lawyers at ALF in Bangalore, where shaina organised a group of people to make video content around intellectual property and knowledge commons that was telecast to 3000 homes, in 2005.
According to Cinematographer Act, 1952...
As a Censor Board panel member, I have the right to, along with the co-operation of the police, seize any uncensored films. According to the report, they have printed and distributed - "today's inaugural film will be Final Solution'. They have given in writing they they are going to show 28 movies. Of this, about 18 movies are uncensored.
Reporter: Are you going to do anything about this?
Yes. If they show any uncensored films, definitely, we will seize them, with police co-operation.
Report: Can I have your names.
Yes, my name is S. Jagganath. This is B. N. Ragh Mehta, and Dakshina Murty (unclear).
Press interview of Censor Board officials stopping a "Films for Freedom" screening by Vikalp. One of the movies to be shown was Final Solution by Rakesh Sharma.
Cinematographer Act
censor board
PADMA10
photo reference
Lawrence delves into the history of copyright law and the tension between the law and technology, citing examples of the VCR and photography.
The "frame in frame" shows images of a copyright raid by the police, then of a local Video production studio in Shivajinagar and then of VCD's in a VCD rental shop in Yelahanka.
The relationship between law and technology has always been like this. When photography was invented, there was this crisis. You may not know this, but at the time when the VCR was invented, Universal Studios sued Sony in America. They demanded that the VCR be banned, because it enabled you to record TV programs, thereby violating copyright. Imagine what would have happened if they banned that technology... the large VCD and VCR industries would all be dead.
Shivajingar, Bangalore
Sony
Universal Studios
VCD
VCR
Yelahanka, Bangalore
copyright
technology
law
Frame in frame shows image of files being copied on a computer.
Similarly, recently the US Supreme Court outlawed the use of P2P file sharing over the internet.
US Supreme Court
file-sharing
p2p
And this war was the War Against the Machines...
Clip taken from Terminator 2, dubbed in hindi, followed by a video of a copyright raid.
Piracy
Terminator
War
copyright raid
There is a war on piracy. Do you think this war will ever stop? Absolutely not. firstly, you can never stop piracy. There are many reasons for this.
"Frame in frame" shows video from the Terminator and then a poster saying "Why is copying called stealing even though the original does not disappear?"
good question posters
war on piracy
PADMA10
Lawrence talking about how the war on piracy will never stop mainly because it is also very beneficial to the movie industry.
Frame in frame shows Good Question posters at WiCityTv, images of a man selling pirated CDs and a newspaper article that says "Destroy the Video Pirated Before they Destroy the Film Industry"
The main reason is that piracy is also very beneficial to the movie industry. In the media we keep hearing that it is harmful for the industry. It is not so simple.
movie industry
newspaper
piracy
A legitimate video rental store owner in Yelahanka speaks about how piracy will kill the movie industry.
They are destroying the industry. Directly, they are destroying the industry.
Q: Can you be more specific? Who, exactly, are they destroying?
The full film industry. If piracy starts booming, whoever is making money in the film industry will undergo losses and stop making films. That way, the film industry itself is gone.
Yelahanka, Bangalore
film industry
losses
vcd rental
If you think of, for example, a big budget movie like Subhash Ghai's awful film,
Kisna. A big budget film that is declared a flop by the second day. What does the film-maker do?
Lawrence gives an example of film-makers making money off the piracy economy.
Subhash Ghai
flop
kisna
Aamir Khan selling tickets in black outside a theater - scene taken from the movie Rangeela.
Ten for thirty, ten for thirty.
Ten for thirty, ten for thirty.
You want?
- I don't want.
Ten for thirty, ten for thirty.
Ten for thirty, tell me quickly - ten for thirty...
Rangeela
black
movie theater
Aamir Khan
If this film is not successful in the halls, the film-maker benefits by releasing the movie in the grey market.
Lawrence continues his example of
Kisna by Subhash Ghai..
Frame in frame has Aamir Khan and Urmila Mathondkar dancing - taken from the movie Rangeela.
Urmila Matondkar
grey market
They steal lakhs of rupees...
Video of man selling pirated CDs...
CDs
piracy
Lawrence interrogates the economic logic presented by Hollywood and the movie industry while villifying 'piracy'.
Frame in frame: a shot of an audio tape seller in Shivajinagar, image saying "Stop Piracy" with a pirate's face surrounded by two CDs., shots inside a video rental shop & images of posters for the movie Company.
The discourse of evil that we repeatedly hear - we need to interrogate it and ask "What is going on here?" - If you look at the assumptions there in the piracy story...
When Hollywood says that every year, because of piracy, it loses 120-150 million dollars, the assumption is that whoever bought a pirated copy would have otherwise bought the original. This is absolute nonsense. Look at this DVD from Eros of the movie Company. Company is a first-class movie. If I get the pirated copy of this DVD for 90 rupees, I would buy it. But if there wasn't a pirated copy, and if this very DVD was 500-600 rupees, I would never buy it. That means, that to equate each pirated sale with a lost sale is wrong.
Company
Eros
Hollywood
discourse of evil
Even if you look at the figures - in 2004, at music industry sales, there was four times the amount downloaded than sold.
If you take this at face value, then the music industry would have been dead by now because there's 4 times more downloads than legal sales. But in 2004, music industry sales fell by only 6%. So, firstly, this is a fallacious assumption that each pirated sale is a lost sale.
Lawrence breaks the myth that each pirated sale results in directly lost revenue to the music industry.
Frame in frame shows a person on the street in Shivajinagar selling a simple game to make an infinite number of shapes; image of a 'folder' coming out of a computer, image on a computer; image saying p2p Peer-toPeer file sharing, Napster poster saying "Own Nothing, Have Everything - Use Napster.com"; Napster logo; pie-chart showing music industry figures; logos of Sony BMG Bertelsmann & Universal
Napster
Sony BMG
music industry
p2p
Universal
Audio of "Money" by the Beatles. Image of Universal logo.
Money..
Beatles
Money
Frame in frame shows Rupert Murdoch's face on an
Ace of Clubs.
Rupert Murdoch's network is spread through Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Ace of Clubs
Rupert Murdoch
Image of 20th Century Fox logo, audio plays "Money" by the Beatles
Money...
Beatles
Money
20th Century Fox
His ownership is in every medium - in the publishing industry, in the broadcast medium, in 20th Century Fox films, distribution - all large networks.
Lawrence continues talking about Rupert Murdoch's control of media empires...
Frame in frame shows Rupert Murdoch's face next to the 20th Century Fox logo.
Rupert Murdoch
media empire
Image of Sony BMG Bertelsmann logo with the Beatles singing "Money..."
Money...
Beatles
Money
Sony BMG Bertelsmann
In India - Star, Zee, all of them are invested in by Rupert Murdoch. For these large media empires, copyright is critical.
Lawrence talks of Rupert Murdoch's media ownership in India.
Frame in frame shows logo of Star World, then of Zee TV.
India
Rupert Murdoch
Star TV
Zee
copyright
media empire
Money... get away...
Video of pirated CD seller counting money. Audio of 'Money' by the Beatles.
Beatles
money
pirate
999 rupees or 1,200 rupees for one DVD is too much considering that I can get 6 movies on 1 DVD for 100 rupees. So, if you do the math, it's laughable, almost.
Hari does the math with the cost of "original" vs. pirated DVDs.
cost
math
piracy
pirated DVD
Lawrence talks about the framing of the image of the 'pirate' as an evil sea-farer who robs and kills people and questions whether it is right to make that comparison with people who deal with non-legal media.
Frame in frame shows an image of an "evil pirate" with a sword and a parrot on his shoulder, and of a skull wit a pirate symbol on its hat along-with weapons.
The term "Piracy" is strange in itself. The image is that of an evil pirate with one eye who kills people. The correlation with non-legal media is inappropriate.
evil
image
one-eye
pirate
propaganda
Lawrence talks about the nature of information as an 'intangible good', enabling 'non-rivalrous' use.
Frame in frame shows video of
You Wouldn't Steal a Car campaign]; image of a 'folder' coming out of a computer screen; image saying "P2P - Peer to Peer File Sharing"; Image saying "mp3 to CD, Wav to CD, CD Burners"; image of a CD coming out of a drive; images from Creative Commons; image of a CD saying "SHARE"; Copyleft symbol; video from
Creative Commons; Creative Commons video -
Building on the Past.
The second assumption of these piracy discourses is this -
The problem with information is that it is not like a pen. Take a look at this pen - if I am using it, then you cannot be using it. And if you take it away from me, then I no longer have the pen. But information is not like this - Information is an intangible good. If I have an mp3 and I give you a copy, or email it to you, then the mp3 that I have, is also with you. Economists call this non-exclusive or non-rivalrous use. Non-rivalrous means that your use of something doesn't compete with my use. you can use it and even I can use it. The world of ideas is always like this. The world of ideas spreads through sharing, through copy culture.
Veruvian Man
anti-piracy ad
building on the past
cd burner
copyleft
creative commons
information
mp3
non-rivalrous
p2p
pen
share
copy culture
Frame in frame cycles through movie posters and their 'copies':
1>
Akele Hum Akele Tum - Sleepless in Seattle
2>
I Am Sam - Main Aisa Hi Hoon
3>
Crocodile Dundee Los Angeles - Jo Bole So Nihaal
4>
Sarkaar -
Godfather
5> Chocolate - Usual Suspects
In the 1950s, hindi film songs were extremely popular in Greece, and many Greek songs were copied from hindi film songs. Similarly, if you look at this one song,
Dil Tadap Tadap Se Keh Raha Hai from the movie
Madhumati, it is copied from a Polish folk tune. The world of culture and creation is always spread through copy culture.
Dil Tadap Tadap
Greece
Madhumati
hindi film songs
hindi movies
movie posters
copy
Frame in frame shows "Good Question" posters; video of a copyright raid; images of CDs on shelves
We need to conceptually, make a distinction. When people look at a copy, they see it with a negative view. They perceive it as being fake. They look at copy as a dilution.
CDs
copyright raid
fake
good question posters
Angoor
Comedy of Errors
Dil Hai ki Manta Nahin
Fight Club
Frame in frame shows film posters and their respective "inspirations":
1>
Angoor - Comedy of Errors
2>
Dil Hai ki Manta Nahin - It Happened One Night
3>
Satte Pe Satta - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
4>
Fight Club -
Fight Club: Members Only
If you look at this movie,
Angoor.
Angoor is a remake of a Shakespeare play about twins and mistaken identities. In the same way,
Dil Hai ki Manta Nahin is a remake of It Happened One Night.
Satte pe Satta is a remake of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. If you look at every remake with a different view, you will be able to move it to a scene where...
It Happened One night
Satte Pe Satta
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Shakespeare
remakes
Lawrence talks about the need to reconceptualize the idea of "copy"...
Frame in frame shows movie posters:
1>
Sauda - Indecent Proposal
2> Laloo Prasad Yadav - A Fish Called Wanda
then frame in frame shows a picture of
Bappi Lahiri, and says
Bappiwood.
the image of Bappiwood changes into a copy of
Lawrence himself.
We need to look at a remake not as a dilution, not as a lowering, but as an addition.
- That art is being spread..
Yes, when Bappi Lahiri copies a song and makes his own tune, we need to see that as an addition to the repertoire of culture, rather than a taking away or dilution. In that way if we reconceptualize copy, and see it as a value-addition rather than value dilution, then we gain a fresh perspective...
Bappi Lahiri
Bappiwood
mirror image
reconceptualize copy
Lyrics:
Verse 1: Truth Hurts
He breaks, me down, he builds, me up
He fills, my cup, I like, it rough
We fuss, we brawl, we rise, we fall
He comes, in late, but it's, ok
He do, I do, he knows, the rules
He takes care of home, though he's not alone
I'm on, his knee, he keeps, me clean
And gives, me things, he makes, me scream
Chorus: Truth Hurts
He's so contagious, returns my pages
He's got me anxious, he's what I waited for
He keeps me guessin, spontaneous
He's so persuasive, and I'm his lady
Verse 2: Truth Hurts
Oh! Tonight he's waitin, and I ain't complainin
I'm entertainin, my number one fan
My back is achin, from our love makin
Oh yes I'm takin, ain't no use in fakin
My ups, my downs, my high and my lows
From head to toe, he makes me glow
He hits the spot, he makes me hot
I'm all that he's got, and he's all that I got
Chorus: Truth Hurts
He's so contagious, returns my pages
He's got me anxious, he's what I waited for
He keeps me guessin, spontaneous
He's so persuasive, and I'm his lady
.....
The original song
Thoda Resham Lagta Hai was sung by Lata Mangeshkar for the movie
Jyoti. Then in 2002, Truth Hurts released an album called
Truthfully Speaking, which contained a song called Addictive which sampled
Thoda Resham Lagta Hai and became a hugely popular hit.
Saregama Limited, which held the copyright to the song,
sued the producers of
Truthfully Speaking, Dr. Dre and his Aftermath Records. Things got more chaotic as DJ Doll did a video and audio rip-off of Truth Hurts, further inspiring
several other videos and remixes of the song. This version, cut by Sooraj Ravindran for Copyright This! has Addictive by Truth Hurts laid out over the video of Helen dancing to
Piya Tu Ab Tu Aaja, switched to black and white, part of the time.
Caravan
addictive
helen
kaliyon ka chaman
lata mangeshkar
piya tu
remix
sample
thoda resham lagta hai
truth hurts
Lawrence breaks down the 'blackmail of copyright' which states that you are stealing from the artists you love so dearly...
Frame in frame has images of random musicians, Bob Marley, Bono, Bappi Lahiri and a clipart character standing scratching his head during the reference to George Bush.
When we support piracy, it does not mean we don't support artists. This is copyright's blackmail. Copyright's blackmail says that if you support piracy you are against artists. This is George Bush logic - you are either with us or against us. I am all for artists earning money. I am all for giving rewards to artists for their creativity.
Bappiwood
Bob Marley
Bono
George Bush logic
artists
blackmail
copyright
creativity
musicians
piracy
But if you understand the political economy of the media, then you will realize that this is mythical. If you take an average, if you are a well established writer, then you will, maximum, get 4-5%. If you are a well-established writer like Salman Rushdie or Arundhati Roy, then you can get 4 or 5%. But if not.
Lawrence talks about how much writers earn on average for their books...
Frame in frame has an image that says "101 Music Business Contracts" then goes to an image of Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy
Salman Rushdie
book royalties
economy of media
Even I write books. I get 0% royalty. I have never made money from my writing.
Lawrence talks about his own career as an author..
Frame in frame has Lawrence spinning back at himself...
You can read Lawrence's book for free online at
http://pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/mdr/research/lliang/open_content_guide or buy it ( ISBN 90-72855-16-7 ) .
Guide To Open Content Licenses
Lawrence Liang
author
book
royalty
Millers Road, Bangalore
Sanjay: Do you think it is a moral issue? Do you think it's wrong?
Hari: See, in a sense. For me, personally, if someone copied the music I made, I wouldn't care.
Hari singing: Put your helmet on... to major Tom...
Talking to
Hari about the morality of copyright infringement followed by him singing Ground Control to Major Tom by David Bowie.
David Bowie
copy
morality
share
singing
copyright
Copyrights? I think, every time a song is being played on the radio or TV, the artist gets 3 rupees - I'm not sure of the exact figure. Imagine how many times a popular song is played. Imagine how much money Kishore Kumar would have made.
- Would that money finally reach the artist?
It does reach the artist.
- Not the music companies more than the artists?
It reaches the artist. There's a separate copyright for the artists, producers and music composers.
- 3 bucks per song?
I'm not completely sure if that is how it works, but it is something like that.
Talking to Shubha outside National Market about how much artists earn through copyright.
artist earnings
music companies
National Market, Bangalore
Copyright's discourse and popular myth says that this money is going to the artist. But in reality, the artist rarely benefits from his sales. You need to understand one thing about Copyright - there is a distinction between the creator and the owner that is extremely important. The creator and owner are very rarely the same person. If I created a song and am the author, it doesn't mean I am the owner of the copyright. Because when I sign a contract with a large company, I assign them the copyright. So, I get a flat fee of 100 rupees, yes? Let's say I'm Arundhati Roy and I have written the God of Small Things. I've received a large advance sum. I may get 4-5% in royalties, but 90% of the profit goes to large companies.
Lawrence explains the different between the "author" and the "owner" of a copyright work.
The frame in frame has Shubha talking in the background; image of Music Business and Entertainment Law Contracts book; footage of a book-seller near National Market;
artists
author
contract
owner
Short film made by Robert Luxemborg, showing a scene from the Matrix, being played off a computer screen, and a download bar. Alert Box at end of movie says "File Sharing is Not a Crime! Fight Intellectual Property! Burn, Hollywood, Burn!"
They are guarding all the doors, they are holding all the keys, but they will never be as strong or as fast as you can be.
Matrix
Robert Luxemborg
burn hollywood burn
file sharing
intellectual property
Footage from inside National Market and around Shivajinagar, Bangalore
Sanjay: And, what do you think will be the impact on the World, on culture, on our lives, if tomorrow, they ended all copyright laws? If they said you are free to distribute whatever you wish? If places like National Market were fully legalized? What would be the effect on humanity?
Lawrence: I think there would be a mass increase in culture, in knowledge...
National Market
National Market, Bangalore
copyright law
culture
freedom
knowledge
legalize
Shivajinagar, Bangalore
Talking to a man who owns a speaker repair, rental and sales shop in Bangalore that he decided to name "Sony", understanding the rationale behind this particular name...
Previously, I had another name. That name was not so familiar, and with that name I lost a lot of things. Then I thought, "Ok, what to do?". See, you should not hurt anybody's heart. Nobody knows, "Who is he?". See, it's just business actually, I don't want any casteism or languageism in our business. Sony is a general name. It doesn't have any caste, it doesn't have any language. It's a general name. So, then I thought, "Ok, let us keep the name Sony." If it is any other name, it will immediately highlight - he is muslim, or he is hindu. With Sony, nobody knows, "Who is he?" In our business, I need everybody's co-operation. In our company, Muslims are working, Christians are working, Hindus are working. And there's no problem.
- I think that's how it should be - if it was always like this, things would be much better. Thank you so much, sir ...
Sony
Who is he?
communal harmony
general name
speakers
PADMA10
Lawyer's Collective Terrace, Tasker Town, Bangalore
Sanjay singing "Sharing...", a hymn he learnt in 2nd grade and had to sing in school assembly once a week.
People passing around CDs on the terrace of Lawyer's Collective in Tasker Town, Bangalore, where this film was editted. Credits roll by on top:
created by sanjay bhangar and sooraj ravindran for wi city tv, shivajinagar, bangalore. produced by
shaina anand. Featuring Lawrence Liang. videos gleaned from
Alternative Law Forum compilations, excerpts from Main azaad hoon 1989. Songs: Peeya Tu Ab Tu Aaja, from the film Caravan, 1981, dir. Nasir Hussain, Lata Mangeshkar (kaliyon ka chaman) vs Addictive vs Truth Hurts
Sharing, if we could all keep sharing, sharing all the things we have. Oh what joy, what peace, what contentment, if we could keep sharing all we have. Sharing, if we could all keep sharing, sharing all the things we have - oh what joy, what peace, what conte-e-entment, if we could keep sharing...
credits
sharing
Because of this market, there are now many markets like this in Bangalore. Today, people have forgotten about this market. People should come here.
Shopkeepers inside National Market...
Bangalore
National Market
National Market, Bangalore
shop
shopkeepers
Credits continue:
The artwork in the age of mechanical reproduction by Keith Sanborn,
S-11 Redux by gnn.tv.
Films with creative commons attribution non-commercial share-alike 1.0 license: Building on the Past by
Justin Cone, CCC by Kuba and Alex Tarkowski, Matrix downloaded by Sebastian Lutgert. wi city tv thanks Alternative Law Forum, Lawyers Collective, DH Lokesh and Sugandha Cable vision, Ayisha Abraham, Srishti
Video of shots at national market, people giving eachother CDs, a cybercafe, Sooraj forcing Sanjay to sing after staying up all night editting...
Hong Kong Bazaar
Prem se humko jeene do, jeene do
Let us live in love and peace...
bad singing
credits
cybercafe
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