Yes, I Was Deeked By Two Hoax Kim Davis Stories Today
from the i'm-just-so-happy dept
Mea Culpa: As our comments section has helpfully pointed out, I have been pantsed today by two hoax stories on two hoax sites that performed their hoaxing in a barely noticeable fashion. For what it's worth, the band has publicly commented that they did not authorize the use of the song and did so in a manner indicating that they were/are planning some kind of response, but the lawsuit claims from Survivor and EMI are fabrications. As our comments section also helpfully pointed out, the state of copyright is such that it can at times be difficult to spot the satire from true stories. That said, it doesn't excuse this writer getting fooled. We are leaving the full post as originally written below, but striked through, so that everyone can see exactly how thoroughly I was fooled today. I have been internet-ed!Davis was jailed for contempt after she refused to do her job and denied the rights of citizens in her district, as she well should have been. After her underlings began actually doing their jobs, the judge released her. Then this happened (WARNING: this video is likely to make you vomit).
Yes, with presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee leading the crowd, Kim Davis was released from jail in a manner so grossly contrived as to be accompanied by music. You know, like a wrestler's entrance into the ring. The song, sigh, was Survivor's Eye of the Tiger, best known from Rocky, a movie built on themes of religious expression, government disobedience, and oh my god none of that is true and how is this happening? It's unclear exactly what hand Huckabee had in putting together this soundtrack to celebrate the release of Davis, who is, hilariously, a registered Democrat. But what is clear is that Survivor band members are pissed.
The band Survivor has filed a $1.2 million lawsuit against Kim Davis and Mike Huckabee over the unauthorized use of its hit song “Eye of the Tiger.” Speaking with Billboard, band co-founder Jim Peterik said he was also not pleased with the unauthorized use of the song.
“The song has motivated thousands through the years to reach beyond their limits. Its use for the release of Kim Davis does not support my views or my politics.”
NBC News spoke with Harvard Law Professor, Paul Horner, who believes Survivor has a strong case.
“Mike Huckabee and Kim Davis had no permission to use the song, bottom line,” Horner said. “This whole incident is in the national public spot light right now, and Huckabee is running for president; he should have known better.”
Adding to the idea that the public performance wasn't properly licensed is that EMI has jumped into this legal dustup as well.
“As far as I have heard, no one secured the rights to that public performance of ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and as a result they violated EMI’s intellectual property rights today,” adds [IP attorney Paul] Steiner. “It is illegal for someone to ignore IP law and would make the offending parties guilty of infringement under Copyright Law (17 U.S.C. § 501(a)).”
Steiner alleges that he has already heard of the record company executives “taking exception” to the use of their intellectual property to “help a criminal grandstand in front of an audience”.
But we need to always be mindful of the original intent and purpose of copyright law in cases like these. Even for those of us that might detest Davis and her message, or who might equally detest an individual that thinks they can lord over her constituents in a blatantly unconstitutional manner, the notion that copyright might be deployed in a manner that ultimately is a picking and choosing who can use art based on their political messages is somewhat distasteful as well. After all, judging from the band's reaction, I imagine they wouldn't be quite so frothy at the mouth if Davis' political message were one with which the band agreed. That deviates from the purpose of copyright, which was to encourage expression, not insulate a band from political associations.
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: ascap, copyright, eye of the tiger, kim davis, mike huckabee, performance rights, survivor
Companies: emi
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Shame it appears that it no longer does anything good.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Um ... Fake Site
If you check their other articles, most of them are lorem ipsum interspersed with the names of sugary snacks.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Um ... Fake Site
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Um ... Fake Site
- Chewing Tobacco Company Targeting Teenage Girls In Latest Ad Campaign
- Donald Trump Accepts Challenge To Fight Bear In Mexico
Ummmmm.....
Nevermind.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Check your Sources
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Eye of the Tiger
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
CopyWrong Sickness
A public statement from the band (or, say, maybe a donation to the opposition, or flowers for anyone that wants to wed a same sex partner in Kim's county this month, or one or more band members celebrating a same-sex marriage) should be sufficient to distance the band from the silliness.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Checking this out
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Checking this out
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Checking this out
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
$1.2 Million for 46 seconds
It seems the song played from 0:36 to 1:22 of the video. That's 46 seconds. It did not even get to the highly recognizable "eye of the tiger" part of the lyrics.
It should be easy for a copyright holder to claim well past $1.2 million in actual damages. Millions of people heard this story on the news, including the audio fragment of the song. And each of these instances is a lost sail, or sale, or something. That's how copyright is and was intended to work.
As for it being a hoax, it is easy to overlook anyone, including TechDirt being hoaxed by this. After all, you CAN NOT PARODY or hoax copyright pigopolists without it being completely believable. Just remember the hoax a few years back about the MPAA wanting to charge home users a performance license fee if there was a large screen, more than two viewers, and comfortable seating. After all, such an arrangement approaches or might even exceed the comfort of a theater.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: $1.2 Million for 46 seconds
That song is instantly recognisable from the first chord.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: $1.2 Million for 46 seconds
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: $1.2 Million for 46 seconds
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: $1.2 Million for 46 seconds
Didn't they use the whole song? There were some long training montages in those movies...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Damn
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mea Culpa
Please know that I fucking hate getting fooled like this....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Mea Culpa
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Mea Culpa
(might even make an interesting column)
will he forever forswear to mock reichwing fucktards who let *their* personal prejudices incline them to believe extremely sarcastic/parody pieces on the onion, et al ? ? ?
methinks he seems a trifle quick to 'rip and read' without reflection...
hmmmmm
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Mea Culpa
Please know that I fucking hate getting fooled like this....
LMAO at your epic stupidity. Could this site be any more of a joke? Before you grab your pitchfork, maybe do your homework. I know, I know. Not your style. You guys are aiming for the morons anyway.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Mea Culpa
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Mea Culpa
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Mea Culpa
And amusingly, as others pointed out, most of the readers have come to expect such kinds of absurdities these days, it is easy to believe them given what we've been seeing for a while now.
So, really Tim, don't be too hard on yourself. If anything you got more respect because even if you do err we will get informed about the err. Cheers.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Mea Culpa
A real journalist would not have done this. Only a dipshit like Timmy, who jumps to conclusions quickly why trying to get out the latest anti-artist hate piece.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Mea Culpa
Right, they would have just removed the article without any comment.
Oh you're saying "real" journalists don't get stories wrong? hahahahaha!!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Mea Culpa
Real journalists follow ethics and standards. Techdirt and its dipshits do not. Mike wants the respect of a journalist, but without doing the work and following the ethics and standards necessary to earn that respect. He and Techdirt are the poster children for wanting what they haven't earned. No wonder he loves piracy so much. Fits right in with the ethos of demanding and expecting what hasn't been earned.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mea Culpa
Oh, another knee-slapper!
Or could be a no true Scotsman fallacy.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mea Culpa
Real musicians have day jobs.
See, I can put out ironic oversimplifications too.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mea Culpa
Are you really claiming that Mike et al. follow widely-recognized journalistic standards? They don't. This isn't even a close call.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mea Culpa
First off, Mike has always claimed Techdirt is an opinion blog that sometimes does journalism, so I'm not sure why this is an issue for you.
Secondly, based on my personal observations, Techdirt holds itself to higher standards than most of the mainstream media outlets. For example, if a MSM outlet published an incorrect story that came off the AP wire, they would simply disappear the article and act like it never happened. Mike, at the very least, has the testicular fortitude to leave the article in place and face up to the mistakes.
And lastly, I don't believe that MSM holds itself up to these "journalistic standards" you speak of and haven't for the last 30 years or so.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Sure about that?
Really? Are you sure that the ATF wouldn't 'accommodate' a Muslim employee, or that the FDA wouldn't be 'sensitive' to the Jewish employee, or that the IRS would ever grant a religious group tax exempt status (since they must be conservative)? (OK, two out of three of those examples, anyway)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Sure about that?
But they wouldn't/shouldn't say: "oh you don't like X for personal reasons.. then just deny/dispose/prevent it"
There is a major difference between the two since one affects a few individuals in the org... the other affects the public.
and for the religions group tax exemptions... well you may want to check out John Oliver's lasted scheme on "Last Week tonight": http://www.ourladyofperpetualexemption.com/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Sure about that?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
You should talk to Google
Or just DMCA the living crap out of the article.
If all else fails, patent a "Method for being the victim of hoaxes, parodies and jokes on interconnected computer systems" and sue for infringement.
In this day and age, there is no need to have this follow you for the rest of your life.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
despite being a hoax
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anyone can get duped
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Anyone can get duped
Someone gunna be eating crow leftovers for a couple days...glad its not me this time...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Con: The got fooled by a fake story.
Pro: At least they admitted it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jailing
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Jailing
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Jailing
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Jailing
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
BAD Day
ever went to work hung over, or with the flu? Ect. ect.
everyone has had a bad day, you Still, get up, the next day, and are off and at it again.....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
That then leaves the question of who added it to the video. I doubt that MSNBC would do it, or that they would add it at Huckabee's request. Given that it has a logo from someone else at the start, I would just automatically assume they did it. Probably half of the videos on YouTube have unrelated music added to them by the uploader.
Besides, the addition of a portion of a song doesn't change the rest of the video, which shows Huckabee holding up Davis as some kind of good example for refusing to do her job. Apparently this idiot (along with a bunch of other idiots lately) has never heard of the separation of church and state. As I posted in the video comments, I wonder how supportive he'd be if it was a Muslim clerk refusing to issue marriage licenses to Christians?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This is one of those cases that makes me think you are trying way too hard to find ways to slam copyright. You thought a .CO site was actually NBC's site, without the logos and just "NBC" on the top? A cheap templated wordpress site?
I know you hate to be caught out, so here's a tip for you: Next time, actually LOOK at the sources and see if they are real. A quick check of this one would have found http://superofficialnews.com/ as the DNS servers, and their site looks TOTALLY LEGIT, right?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yes, I Was Deeked By Two Hoax Kim Davis Stories Today, more than usual.
I commend you for keeping this up, just as do for obeying the law of gravity. But it'd be even more funny if tried to hide this IMMENSE FLOP.
HOOTS ALL ROUND! YOU DESERVE IT, PIRATES!
By the way, there's no actual law that compels Kim Davis to act. Nope. Not in Kentucky. This is dangerous federalism. You're against "states rights" when you agree with the feds, eh? She asked that, and got no answer. This is more complex than your pro-gay vitriol makes it.
Late! 15 or so tries failed between 3 and 6 PM PST, most difficult times for me to get in. Just as if Masnick had at last got in to office and was okaying every comment because knew this huge flop would attract snark.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Yes, I Was Deeked By Two Hoax Kim Davis Stories Today, more than usual.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Yes, I Was Deeked By Two Hoax Kim Davis Stories Today, more than usual.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Yes, I Was Deeked By Two Hoax Kim Davis Stories Today, more than usual.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Yes, I Was Deeked By Two Hoax Kim Davis Stories Today, more than usual.
What the hell are you yapping about here? Separation of church and state has been binding legal doctrine for quite awhile now.
Ms. Davis has every right to hold the beliefs she does, but on the other hand, she cannot use her position as a representative of the government to impose those views on others, which is exactly what she is doing. The highest court in our land has declared same-sex marriages legal and as a representative of the government she MUST grant those licenses, as per her job description. If she cannot do that with a clear conscience, then she must resign her position because she is unable to carry out the duties she was elected to perform.
One other thought to mull over: Would we allow Ms. Davis to deny marriage licenses to multi-racial couples because of her beliefs?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
So, this woman makes me so upset, to think I may not be able to observe my rights because she forgot that Jesus said not to judge others and to love everyone.
She needs to read the messages Jesus gave again, because she missed them completely.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Fake news is an epidemic
Remember, every day is April Fool's Day on the Internet. It should remind us not to be so credulous.
http://teleread.com/chris-meadows/maybe-april-fools-day-is-a-good-thing/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Fake news is an epidemic
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hey, if the leader of North Korea and a FIFA senior executive can point to Onion articles, you can point to this one.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
http://www.mediaite.com/online/oath-keepers-militia-well-protect-kim-davis-with-boots-on-the-gro und/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Pantsed
[ link to this | view in chronology ]