Brand Name Bullies: The Quest to Own and Control Culture

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Brand Name Bullies: The Quest to Own and Control Culture

 

BuzzFlash.com Recommendation

 

This is an absolutely fascinating -- and in many ways, chilling --

account of how our commonly owned language is being privatized. No, we

are not making this up, as outlandish as it sounds.

 

Corporations and celebrities, among others, are trademarking and

copyrighting even the most common of words and phrases -- and then

suing anyone who dares to use them, even in the most innocent of

fashions. This is not some alarmist piece of propaganda. To the

contrary, this is an extremely well-researched and documented book

that raises the issue of privatization of our culture and language to

a shocking level.

 

There are plenty of examples in " Brand Name Bullies " about how we are

being deprived of the right to use common names and phrases (think

about how the singer " Madonna " has successfully laid claim to the

rights to the name " Madonna, " even though the real Madonna -- as in

the New Testament -- preceded her by a couple of thousand years.) Take

for example the Disney Corporation, who copyrights fairy tales that

were in the public domain -- such as Cinderella, Snow White, and Peter

Pan -- and then sues people for using the names and stories that they

stole from our cultural heritage!

 

And Congress, which gets big buck campaign contributions from the

entertainment and media industry, keeps extending the length of

copyright laws, so now copyrights belong to estates for years and

years after a person dies. In fact, even the image of the deceased

celebrity belongs to the estate.

 

Essentially, David Bollier (the author of the book), argues that we

are increasingly trademarking and copyrighting public life into

private for-profit hands. One result is that artistic and literary

creativity are being increasingly stifled because a person can be sued

for accidentally using a few notes from a copyrighted song or for

using a Barbie doll in an art exhibition.

 

And how many artists and struggling writers can afford to fight blue

chip law firms that are paid a fortune for intimidating anyone from

using a copyrighted or trademarked phrase, name, or notes?

 

This is really a remarkably insightful and provocative book that

leaves you wondering if we are going to have to pay a fee for speaking

at some point in the future, lest we accidentally mutter a trademarked

or copyrighted name.

 

" Brand Name Bullies " is a real eye opener.

 

Description | " Brand Name Bullies " |

 

An impassioned, darkly amusing look at how corporations misuse

copyright law to stifle creativity and free speech.

 

If you want to make fun of Mickey or Barbie on your Web site, you may

be hearing from some corporate lawyers. You should also think twice

about calling something " fair and balanced " or publicly using Martin

Luther King Jr.'s " I Have a Dream " speech. It may be illegal. Or it

may be entirely legal, but the distinction doesn't matter if you can't

afford a lawyer. More and more, corporations are grabbing and

asserting rights over every idea and creation in our world, regardless

of the law's intent or the public interest. But beyond the humorous

absurdity of all this, there lies a darker problem, as David Bollier

shows in this important new book. Lawsuits and legal bullying clearly

prevent the creation of legitimate new software, new art and music,

new literature, new businesses, and worst of all, new scientific and

medical research.

 

About the Author | " Brand Name Bullies " |

 

DAVID BOLLIER has worked for twenty years as a journalist, activist,

and public policy analyst. He is cofounder of Public Knowledge, a

public interest advocacy organization dedicated to defending the

information commons, as well as Senior Fellow at the Norman Lear

Center, USC Annenberg School for Communication. His previous book was

Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth.

 

Other Reviews | " Brand Name Bullies " |

 

" Anyone who cares about protecting the vitality of art and democratic

culture in the digital age should read this important book. "

-- Pete Seeger

 

Starred Review. " Society's growing mania to " propertize " every idea,

image, sound and scent that impinges on our consciousness is ably

dissected in this hilarious and appalling exposé of intellectual

property law. "

-- Publisher's Weekly

 

" The author gives insight into the great, often comical lengths that

huge, heartless corporations with large bankrolls and lawyers employed

just for this purpose will go to to protect their property, even if

they had initially hijacked said resources from the public domain just

years or decades earlier. "

-- Booklist

 

" Bollier succeeds in making a knotty but important legal issue both

accessible and relevant for readers. "

-- Large ecommerce site named after a river

 

 

 

Details | " Brand Name Bullies " |

 

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (December 30, 2004)

Language: English

ISBN: 0471679275

Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds.