Mardis Gras Indians Claim Copyright Protection Over Outfits
from the copyright-this dept
A bunch of folks have sent over the recent NY Times article about the "Mardis Gras Indians" -- a group of folks in New Orleans who create elaborate costumes that they wear to a few events each year (with Mardis Gras being a big one, obviously). With the costumes being so elaborate, they're often photographed, and the Indians are so pissed off that these photographs are then sold that they're trying to claim copyright over their costumes, in order to threaten any photographer who does anything with such a photograph.As the article notes, this is a pretty questionable copyright claim. As we've discussed at length, there is no copyright protection on clothing, but the lawyer who's been pushing this copyright plan is claiming that these outfits aren't really clothing, but sculptures -- which can be covered by copyright.
Of course, the whole thing is pretty ridiculous. These costumes are designed to be worn in public and shown off. At some point you have to simply expect people to photograph them. The costumes were created to be noticed, and it's pretty obnoxious to then get upset that they actually did get noticed. Furthermore, let's look at this from the perspective of what copyright law is here for: it's to create an incentive to create. Being able to copyright these outfits doesn't change the incentives to create. Already there are strong cultural and community incentives for this group of folks to create these outfits (apparently, each year they create a new one). What becomes clear in reading the article is that they're not using copyright law as an incentive, but simply as a way to prevent others from doing things with the photographs. This seems to go against the very purpose of copyright law.
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Filed Under: copyright, costumes, indians, mardis gras
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I blame the *AAs
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in protest ima go naked then
I can't afford to pay for copyrighted clothing your honor.
and why can't we have copyright on cars after all they are made by artists in a room with help with machines aka robots.
they fashion sporty looking vehicles we can all drive around and we need to think of the children these people that make them support.
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Re: in protest ima go naked then
- Ask them to come wearing their costumes to court.
- Then accuse them of contempt because they aren't wearing clothes.
- Hilarity.
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Sound like greedy people trying to get free money...
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Re:
Greedy photogs always trying to make money off of other people's hard work... Bunch of leeches who need to be shut down, if you ask me.
(For the humor impaired, that's Bizzarro World me. (Who still needs to be paid.))
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Re: welcome to our online store, we have payment by paypal and free shipping
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This comment is Copyrighted !!!!
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Re:
http://techdirt.com/articles/20100322/0201248652.shtml
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Crazy Years
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i believe the proper response is
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Why are you writing about this on TechDirt?
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Re: Why are you writing about this on TechDirt?
Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
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Re: Re: Why are you writing about this on TechDirt?
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There Is An Inconsistency, Though ...
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Re: Why are you writing about this on TechDirt?
From the very start of this blog, it has always been about whatever I find interesting: relating to innovation, policy, economics, business and trends. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but most people seem to like it quite a bit. Whenever we skip over some random copyright story, people keep asking why. In this case, the story was submitted over a dozen times.
Most people wanted to see it. I'm sorry that you don't.
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Given an overall system that rewards *some* participants monetarily but leaves others out, is it really so unreasonable that those who are left out demand "their fair share"?
It's fine to argue - and in fact I'd probably agree - that the system *as a whole* needs reform, that the repeated cycles of "he got his, now I want mine" just makes things worse for us all, individually and collectively. For better or worse, however, we've been moving more and more of what used to be community/non-monetary/non-market segments of our society into the monetary/market segments. It then becomes very difficult to justify telling some group "Oh, you should just go on doing what you do for love, regardless of whether that other guy is making use of it to make money."
-- Jerry
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Ummm, hello..?
Third, does NO ONE find this racist at all? I mean, people who have NO ties to the Native community acting like fools in designs they pilfered from the same community.. No? Nobody?
If anything, these fools should be punished, and severely, for being such jerks about it all. I honestly hope, one day, that I run into one of them so I can give them a good piece of my mind and set their butts straight.
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