Imprisoned Terrorist, Carlos The Jackal, Claims Intellectual Property Over Documentary About His Life

from the good-luck-with-that dept

In the past, we've seen various attempts by people to claim they had some sort of intellectual property right over a TV show or movie about them, but those claims rarely get very far. We've also seen people in prison with too much time on their hands suddenly claim IP rights over their name or likeness. Now, it appears that convicted terrorist Carlos the Jackal (Ilich Ramírez Sanchez) has decided that his life is his own and no one else can report on it without his approval. CitMediaLaw alerts us to the news that Carlos' wife/attorney has sued the production company of a documentary about Carlos' life. She is demanding that the master copy be given to them as soon as it is done, and that she and her husband get to review all the content and demand changes. It seems unlikely that this gets very far, but it's yet another symptom of our age when people begin to think that pretty much everything can be "owned" via intellectual property.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: carlos the jackal, documentary, intellectual property, terrorism


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • icon
    Mike C. (profile), 29 Jan 2010 @ 8:16am

    Is anyone honestly surprised...

    ... at the direction things are taking?

    With more and more major media claiming ownership over ideas, it was no great leap to see that drop all the way to the "root source" of each idea.

    In this case, the "root" is "Carlos". Next up, his parents will claim copyright because they "created" him...

    /kidding, but you know someone somewhere will try it someday

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Jan 2010 @ 9:29am

    and his grandparents will sue the parents

    and maybe the relatives deserve some cause they helped a few times looking after him when young or taught him something

    then you have all the people he worked with
    you get the idea

    like i said it self destruction going this route

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    The Gullible Mike, 29 Jan 2010 @ 9:31am

    Wait a minute! I thought that infringing copyright was the action that supported terrorism. Now a terrorist is supporting himself by alleging copyright infringement? My mind can't handle all this!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    RD, 29 Jan 2010 @ 9:34am

    Look out!

    "Wait a minute! I thought that infringing copyright was the action that supported terrorism. Now a terrorist is supporting himself by alleging copyright infringement? My mind can't handle all this!"

    Yes, its a recursive loop that will destroy the fabric of reality.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    angal2, 29 Jan 2010 @ 9:56am

    Fiction?

    Wasn't Carlos the Jackal the name of the bad guy in the Bourne Identity novels?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    David (profile), 29 Jan 2010 @ 10:32am

    A demand they might want to consider

    Seriously, despite the shaky legal footing on demanding they have an inherent veto/approval right over the documentary, who'd say no to the wife of a hitman, such as Carlos the Jackal?

    Personally, I'd be terrified...the producers may, of course, have security of some kind. @.@

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    IshmaelDS (profile), 29 Jan 2010 @ 10:56am

    What about "publicity rights" or is that only used if your famous for good things?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Robert Ring (profile), 29 Jan 2010 @ 11:28am

    Honestly, if I was living out my days in jail, I'd probably do something similar (though I'd probably go sillier with it), just to give me something to do.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 29 Jan 2010 @ 12:05pm

    This Is Not The Age Of Aquarius, It’s The Age Of Entitlement

    That is all.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Jan 2010 @ 12:23pm

    Style over Substance

    This man may be an early example of how one can be famous despite being unsuccessful. The bulk of his attempted assassinations failed. His legend lives on primarily because he was associated with more successful people, and because he has an admittedly cool handle (given to him by the press AFTER he was captured.)

    Carlos wouldn't rate a Twitter today.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    jezsik (profile), 29 Jan 2010 @ 4:30pm

    So? Let them have it and see what happens.

    She wants the master copy? Fine. In a digital world, there are no "master" copies. They want to review the content and demand changes. Sure, but those demands must be recorded to video. Of course the producers don't HAVE to make the changes, right? The clips (or even transcripts) of their demands will certainly make things interesting (and possible drive up sales).

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    porster, 30 Jan 2010 @ 9:51pm

    And the others inthe story...

    It's not one persons story, we have victims, police, Forensic techs, etc.
    Make sure they all have their say....

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    bob, 2 Feb 2010 @ 8:34am

    Ain't this the guy

    They caught when he went to get fat sucked out of his ass?

    Ha ha ha ha ha.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Raynold Paranoor Ittoop, 10 May 2010 @ 1:38am

    Carlos

    This is the story of the incarnation of Devil. Carlos The JACKAL. Ilich Ramírez Sanchez CAUGHT AND KEPT IN JAIL IS NOT THE ORIGINAL JACKAL.THAT MAN CAUGHT NOW IS ONLY A FAN OF CARLOS THE JACKAL.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.