Fair Use in Digital Media (the story of Kind of Bloop)
A Perfect Circle Portland fans, my photos will be posted by midday today.
Almost two years ago, I posted about an interesting 8-bit tribute album of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue called Kind of Bloop. I like it, more in concept than execution, but I liked the music nonetheless. Well, the guy who put it together Andy Baio (who also helped start Kickstarter) got in hot water with the original photographer Jay Maisel for Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violations. He settled out of court, but was he in the wrong? Personally, I think not.
I mean, his use of the photo was altered in a way that appears consistent with the fair use provisions in the copyright law. Check out the full read over on the waxy.org article “Kind of Screwed“…
What do you think? And what do you think about these transformative recreations?
What is art, and can derivative works be safe from legal harassment? Where does the line get drawn?