From carrie at stayfreemagazine.org Wed Jan 22 16:54:16 2003 From: carrie at stayfreemagazine.org (Carrie McLaren) Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 16:54:16 -0500 Subject: Stay Free! | 22 January 2003 Message-ID: Included herein: + Illegal Art Exhibit opening in Chicago + Illegal mp3's on our website + Supreme Court on Eldred v. Ashcroft + New York-related fodder Hello, Stay Free! is gearing up for the second leg of Illegal Art, which, you'll recall, is our exhibit featuring works that rip, plunder, and repurpose others' "intellectual property." If you don't recall, then you can read about it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/07/arts/design/07SAMP.html The show opens in Chicago this Saturday. I'll be there, as will some of the artists. And there will be lots of new material, including works by several Chicago types. Jessica Clark at In These Times deserves major props for organizing things this time, so buy her a drink or, better yet, pick up a copy of the new "Illegal Art" issue of ITT, which features an interview with copyright superstar Lawrence Lessig. http://www.inthesetimes.org ILLEGAL ART EXHIBIT -- CHICAGO January 25 - February 21 Opening Sat. January 25, 6-9 pm In These Times 2040 N. Milwaukee Ave. FREE Featuring lots of new material: Gangstar rappin' Pez dispensers! Mickey Mouse gasmasks! Local Chicago artists! Sat. Jan. 25, 5 pm: Press conference with Kembrew McLeod. McLeod, a University of Iowa professor who has trademarked the phrase "freedom of expression." Fri. Feb. 7 and Sat. Feb. 8: Movies and Mash-Ups Each night at 7 and 8:30 pm: film selections from Illegal Art and Select Media's Digital Video Detournement Each night at 9:30 pm-midnight: Performances by Evolution Control Committee and other mash-up DJs at the buddy space. Suggested donation $8. Sat. Feb. 15, 6-8 pm: Panel debate organized in conjunction with The Public Square will feature Lawrence Lessig, a Stanford Law professor and the chair of Creative Commons. Additional artists will participate, including Dj Spooky, that Subliminal Kid (invited), and Mark Hosler of Negativland. At the Chicago Historical Society (at the south end of Lincoln Park). FREE. After Chicago, the exhibit will be heading to San Francisco, where it will show June-July. We'll keep you posted... ILLEGAL MP3's Madeleine Baran has written an excellent summary of some of the major songs involved in copyright lawsuits for the Illegal Art website: Willie Dixon v. Led Zepplin, Roy Orbison v. 2 Live Crew, Gillbert O'Sullivan v. Biz Markie, etc. You can also download both the original songs AND the contested ones right here: http://www.illegal-art.org/audio/historic.html BAD NEWS DEPT. The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 against the plaintiffs in Eldred v. Ashcroft, which means that the law giving Disney et al. another 20 years on their copyrights is allowed to stand. Fear not, though. Lawrence Lessig has come up with a promising backup plan: http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/lessig/blog/archives/EAFAQ.html NEW YORK, NEW YORK CRITICAL CONSUMPTION EXHIBIT: Heidi Cody, who did the awesome American Alphabet in the Illegal Art Exhibit, is one of several artists unveiling work at this upcoming show in Brooklyn. Although it's hard to tell from this postcard, it looks like a multimedia exhibit loosely focussed on the politics of consumerism. Sounds good, huh? Opening Thursday, Jan. 30, 6 to 8 pm. Through March 15. At the Rotunda Gallery, 33 Clinton Street in Brooklyn (brooklynX.org/rotunda). HELP FIGHT NEW MTA MEASURES: This year, in addition to a substantial fare hike, the MTA wants to close 177 token booths throughout the city. For more information and details on who to contact to complain: http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/public/mta.html http://straphangers.org/ -- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/stayfree/attachments/20030122/a2e2830b/attachment.html From carrie at stayfreemagazine.org Thu Jan 23 10:11:26 2003 From: carrie at stayfreemagazine.org (Carrie McLaren) Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2003 10:11:26 -0500 Subject: Stay Free! | Illegal Artist threatens AT&T Message-ID: Hello, here's some late-breaking info about another Illegal Art event. See the article in today's New York Times for more info: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/business/media/23ADCO.html Or check out Stay Free's site: http://www.illegal-art.org thank you thank you carrie - - - - - - MEDIA ALERT January 23, 2003 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Iowa Professor Owns Phrase Freedom of Expression, Threatens Suit Against AT&T for Violating His Trademark. New York Times reporter Nat Ives writes, "Freedom of Expression, it turns out, may not be for everyone." At a January 25, 2003 press conference in Chicago, IL, University of Iowa professor Kembrew McLeod will formally announce his plans to pursue legal action against AT&T for trademark infringement. The telecommunications giant used "Freedom of Expression" as the slogan for a recent print ad campaign, which violates Dr. McLeod's federally registered trademark, Freedom of Expression, which is also the name of his long-running publication. "Yesterday, Mr. McLeod sent AT&T a 'cease and desist' letter, asserting that consumers might infer a link between the company and his anti-corporate publication, 'Freedom of Expression,'" wrote Ives in a January 23, 2003 New York Times column. McLeod objects to the fact that AT&T, in reality, cares little for freedom of expression; he is also concerned with the way intellectual property law is accelerating the privatization of our culture. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/business/media/23ADCO.html "Your company has usurped my client's registered trademark in its attempts to sell long-distance telephone service to college students," McLeod's Iowa City-based attorney Gregory Williams wrote in the cease and desist letter mailed to AT&T on January 22, 2003. "Consequently, we demand that you immediately cease and desist from further use of the registered mark 'Freedom of Expression.'" "I want AT&T to think twice the next time they try to use 'Freedom of Expression' without my permission," states McLeod. He acknowledges the irony of trademarking the very phrase that sums up the American commitment to free speech. "But 99.999% of the time it is corporations that shut down individuals' Freedom of Expression," he said, "so it's satisfying that trademark law allows me to do the same to AT&T." McLeod is an assistant professor at the University of Iowa who has written about the impact of intellectual property law and the privatization of culture in his book Owning Culture (2001). This is not the first time a commonly used phrase has been trademarked. Food manufacturing company Mrs. Smith's fires off cease and desist letters to bakeries that dare to infringe on its trademark, "home style." University of Massachusetts ex-basketball coach John Calipari trademarked "Refuse to Lose" and charges the school royalties to use his slogan. And Ohio University and Ohio State engaged in a lengthy, expensive battle over the word "Ohio." The Trademark for Freedom of Expression (no. 2,127,381) was filed under Class 16 of the international register of services and goods, which covers printed matter, and the like. The press conference is part of the Chicago opening of "Illegal Art: Freedom of Expression in the Corporate Age," an art show that runs from January 25 through February 21. "Illegal Art" (http://illegal-art.org) debuted in New York City, and it will also travel to San Francisco. The show is sponsored by Stay Free! magazine and the Chicago exhibit is hosted by In These Times magazine. McLeod's framed Freedom of Expression trademark certificate is part of the show, which highlights art and ideas on the legal fringes of intellectual property law. Works include the cover art of Negativland's infamous "U2" sound collage, which prompted a lawsuit by the Irish band's record company, as well as director Todd Haynes' "Superstar," a short film that sympathetically tells the story of Karen Carpenter with Barbie dolls, but which was enjoined from distribution. Media representatives and others are invited to the press conference at 5pm on January 25, 2003. It is located at 2040 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60647, at the In These Times magazine building. The show opens at the same location at 6pm. High Resolution Images Available for Media at http://kembrew.com. CONTACT INFO: Kembrew McLeod 319-621-4620 kembrew at kembrew.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/stayfree/attachments/20030123/24f50b0b/attachment.html From carrie at stayfreemagazine.org Thu Jan 30 16:02:41 2003 From: carrie at stayfreemagazine.org (Carrie McLaren) Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 16:02:41 -0500 Subject: Stay Free! on WBAI Fri. Jan. 31 Message-ID: Howdy, For those of you who plan on being awake at 8:40 EST tomorrow (Friday) morning, Kembrew McLeod and I are going to be on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York talking about the Illegal Art Exhibit (www.illegal-art.org) and copyright law. Kembrew trademarked the phrase "Freedom of Expression" a few years ago and is now using it to pursue legal action against AT&T for using "Freedom of Expression" in an ad campaign (or, rather, he's using it to draw attention to the expansion of intellectual property law). Those of you not in New York can listen online at: http://www.wbai.org/ carry on, CM