Freedom of Expression™
We hear from Kembrew McLeod – journalist, professor, and intellectual property “prankster” – on how a system meant to encourage innovation has been abused.
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BRIAN: One of the chief concerns with the current intellectual property system is it actually stifles innovation, that it keeps protected material out of the hands of innovators. Kembrew McLeod teaches courses on copyright law at the University of Iowa. And to be fair, he’s got an agenda.
So let’s just get right into it. Are you a Madisonian or a Jeffersonian when it comes to attitudes about copyright?
KEMBREW MCLEOD: Well, I’m down with Jefferson.
[LAUGHTER]
KEMBREW MCLEOD: I think he had it right from the beginning.
BRIAN: Kembrew offered one example of how material from the public domain resulted in innovation. An innovation, which was then put under lock and key.
KEMBREW MCLEOD: Let me give you the example of Woody Guthrie. He wrote what’s considered our unofficial national anthem, “This Land is Your Land.” And while he wrote the lyrics, he didn’t write the melody. He based it on a Carter family song. And that melody actually went back to the 19th century.
And he was free to do so because he lived during a time in which the terms of copyright didn’t last what seems like forever nowadays. So he was able to create this beautiful song by appropriating an earlier song. And the sad irony is that Woody Guthrie’s song publisher, the company that controls “This Land is Your Land,” heavily polices any alterations that contemporary musicians might make to the song.
BRIAN: Under the existing copyright law.
KEMBREW MCLEOD: Exactly.
BRIAN: So is there a CNN “This Land is Your Land” countdown clock? How many years do we have to go on this one?
KEMBREW MCLEOD: It depends on the version. Because there actually is a version of the lyrics that are in the public domain. But the huge irony is one of the classic versions of the song, in which Woody Guthrie sings “I came upon a sign that said private property, on the backside it didn’t say nothing. That side was made for you and me.”
[LAUGHTER]
KEMBREW MCLEOD: Well, that’s still under copyright. That version is still private property.
BRIAN: Touche.
[MUSIC – “THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND”]
BRIAN: It’s time for a short break. When we come back, a great opponent of copyright, Mark Twain, takes on a great supporter of copyright, Mark Twain. We’ll be back in a minute.