Scans Daily, and the strife of the classes

[katsaris]

I was actually was about to write a post about how the impermancy of the Internet is depressing: my main instigation for this feeling, was that I was no longer able to locate what's probably my all-time favourite fanvid, "Higher than Hope" by Freddo, which beautifully chronicles Willow's magical, psychological and romantic arcs in seasons 4, 5, and 6. (I have it saved in my hard disk, but I can no longer locate it on the Internet)

Then just so as to make my thoughts even more relevant, Scans_daily is now taken down, after Peter David notified Marvel about copyright violations of its "property".

Here's what I posted in commentary to Peter David's blog:

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My point of view on this is strictly strife-of-the-classes: I don't see why I should care about the copyright claims of the same CORPORATION that has trademarked the word "superhero" (alongside DC) and is forbidding any others to use it.

I wouldn't have a problem if Peter David took down SD over copyright violation of his own work. But he simply sided with a corporation instead. He seems to consider that a reason to blame him less: I see it as a reason to blame him more.

I don't see why I should care about the copyright of CORPORATIONS that want to extend their rights to perpetuity. The corporations that force the deletion of some "derivative" works of art as fanvids, because they use a song. The copyright laws that forced e.g. Sluggy Freelance to remove the lyrics of songs from its "Fire and Rain" chapter, even though those lyrics perfectly set the mood.

The enemies of SD all speak about the intellectual property rights of ARTISTS, but we're not talking about the property rights of ARTISTS here, we're talking about the property rights of a corporation.

Yes, Mr Peter David, the law is on Marvel's side. The law is on the corporations' side, we knew that already.

Then the revolution comes, and the law will no longer be on its side, or the state is powerless to enforce it.

I recently donated $20 to Gunnerkrigg Court, a webcomic offered freely on the internet: more than I've paid to Marvel my whole life. I've donated to Penny & Aggie, I've bought books of Order of the Stick. The model of comics is changing, Mr. David, away from the corporations -- the Internet has empowered the individual, and the revolution is upon us.

Yes, the sales of Marvel and DC will fall, perhaps both corporations will collapse. Are you sure that will be bad for the artists involved? (And even if it's bad for the artists, I'm not at all sure it will be bad for the art)

Yes, you have the law on your side. That's exactly your sin: you sided with a law benefiting the corporations.

Comments

[evilstorm.livejournal.com]

Bless, man. I left a comment (which I am not going to defend unless something serious crops up) but took the humble route instead. Not that that felt particularly good, but flies, honey, eh.

I like how so many people don't understand that legalities are bullshit as the law itself is becoming increasingly outmoded and unfair.

amundas story

[(Anonymous)]

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Die Europäische Union wappnet sich gegen mögliche Staatsbankrotte in einzelnen Mitgliedsländern. "Wir sind politisch und wirtschaftlich darauf eingerichtet, uns diesem Krisenszenario zu stellen", sagte EU-Währungskommissar Joaquin Almunia am Dienstag in Brüssel. Die Kommission plant kein generelles Hilfspaket, sondern will von Fall zu Fall entscheiden.

[skaly2.livejournal.com]

Very thought-provoking. (And somewhat McCloudian.)

I pretty much agree with you, but another part of me believes that stealing is wrong even if you're stealing from a corporation.

BTW, DC hasn't trademarked the word "superhero." They trademarked the word "super-hero." The hyphen makes all the difference apparently.

Thanks for the webcomics links. Gunnerkrigg Court looks gorgeous.

[katsaris.livejournal.com]

The distinction I wanted to make wasn't "individuals VS corporations" -- it was "creators vs parasites".

The big comics corporations in particular right now seem to exist by feeding on characters whose actual creators died decades upon decades ago.

[skaly2.livejournal.com]

Marvel, however, is the "younger" of the Big Two. And though Jack Kirby is gone, others like Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and John Romita are still around.

But I don't think that makes Marvel any less parasitic. They continue to "feed" off of properties like Spider-Man and the X-Men, altering the characters as dictated by the need for profit (e.g., the decision to marry Spider-Man off and to erase the marriage a couple decades later). Organic storytelling is impossible in such a setting. Creators do not have the freedom they need to be truly innovative with such characters.

So what you say about how corporate ownership of such properties is bad for the art, I pretty much agree with.