Fuzzy Copyright by PugnoM
I’ll admit it, I’m a geek but even I know that it’s highly unlikely that the topic of fair use and copyright law is ever going to be a great conversational ice breaker. That is until now, the always awesome Ars Technica has a great post by Nate Anderson about the controversy swirling around Perez Hilton and Miss CaliforniaCarrie Prejean’s remarks about same sex marriage. It seems that the National Organization for Marriage has created an ad campaign using footage from both of them and now each is crying FOUL!!
From Ars Technica:
This is a story about fair use—well, fair use, Miss California, boob jobs, Perez Hilton, and leaked lingerie photos. (Not that we, as Serious Journalists, take any pleasure in bringing all the salacious details to you.)
The controversy began when the Miss USA pageant employed gossip blogger (and scribble fetishist) Perez Hilton to serve as a judge of its competition. Perez asked Miss California, Carrie Prejean, about marriage and whether states should be restrict it to a one-man, one-woman arrangement. Read more.
If you can set aside personal opinion about same sex marriage, perhaps not easy to do, the dispute between Perez, Carrie, Miss USA and NOM could make great fodder for a discussion of copyright–oh so much more interesting than whether a teacher can show Donald Duck in Mathmagic land, or some other film to fill an hour or two of class time.
posting by jim
