| Good Copy Bad Copy | |
|---|---|
.png) Logo forGood Copy Bad Copy | |
| Directed by | Andreas Johnsen Ralf Christensen Henrik Moltke |
| Produced by | Rosforth |
| Cinematography | Andreas Johnsen Ralf Christensen Henrik Moltke |
| Edited by | Adam Neilsen |
| Music by | RJD2 Track72 Phoenicia John Tejada REQ Shex Santogold Rex Lawson Dr.Victor Olaiya Pharfar Girl Talk Danger Mouse Mikkel Meyer Gnarls Barkley De La Soul NWA |
Release date |
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Running time | 59 minutes |
Good Copy Bad Copy (subtitledGood Copy Bad Copy: A documentary about the current state of copyright and culture) is a 2007documentary film aboutcopyright andculture in the context ofInternet,peer-to-peer file sharing and other technological advances, directed by Andreas Johnsen, Ralf Christensen, and Henrik Moltke. It features interviews with many people with various perspectives oncopyright, including copyright lawyers, producers, artists and filesharing service providers.[1]
A central point of the documentary is the thesis that "creativity itself is on the line" and that a balance needs to be struck, or that there is a conflict between protecting the right of those who own intellectual property and the rights of future generations to create.
Artists interviewed includeGirl Talk andDanger Mouse, popular musicians of themashup scene who cut and remix sounds from other songs into their own (notably the latter artist'sThe Grey Album featuring music ofThe Beatles andJay Z).[2][3][4] The interviews with these artists reveal an emerging understanding of digital works and the obstacle to their authoringcopyright presents.
The interviews featured inGood Copy Bad Copy acknowledge a recent shift towardsuser-generated content,mashup music and video culture. The documentary opens with explaining the current legal situation concerningsampling,licensing andcopyright.
Good Copy Bad Copy documents the conflict between currentcopyright law and recent technological advances that enable thesampling of music, as well as the distribution of copyrighted material viapeer-to-peerfile sharing search engines such asThe Pirate Bay. MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) CEODan Glickman is interviewed in connection withthe raid by theSwedish police against The Pirate Bay in May 2006. Glickman concedes that piracy will never be stopped, but states that they will try to make it as difficult and tedious as possible.Gottfrid Svartholm andFredrik Neij from The Pirate Bay are also interviewed, with Neij stating that The Pirate Bay is illegal according to US law, but not Swedish law.
The interviews document attitudes towardsart, culture and copyright in a number of countries, including theUnited States,Sweden,Russia,Nigeria, andBrazil.
The situation inNigeria andBrazil is documented in terms of innovative business models that have developed in response to new technological possibilities and changing markets.
InNigeria the documentary interviews individuals working within the Nigerianfilm industry, orNollywood. Charles Igwe, a film producer in Lagos, is interviewed at length about his views on the Nigerian film industry, the nature of Nigerian films, and copyright in the context ofdigital video technology. Mayo Ayilaran, from the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN), explains the Nigerian government's approach to copyright enforcement.
InBrazil theTecno brega industry and its unique approach tocopyright andsampling is documented, featuring interviews with amongst othersRonaldo Lemos, Professor of LawFGV Brazil. Lemos explains that CDs or recorded music is treated merely as an advertisement for parties and concerts that generate revenue.
Good Copy Bad Copy also includes interview segments with notable copyright activist and academicLawrence Lessig.[5][6]
Originally created forthe Danish National Broadcasting Television network, the film was eventually released for free on the internet as aBitTorrent download. The filmmakers hope that releasingGood Copy Bad Copy for free will raise awareness and lead to other local broadcasting networks to show the documentary.[7][8]
The documentary first appeared on The Pirate Bay and then it was officially released under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license on theBlip.tv video sharing site.[9]
On 8 May 2008,Good Copy Bad Copy was shown on Swedish television stationSVT2.[10]
The documentary and an unofficial trailer are available onYouTube.[11][12]