Intellectual Property Law

Oh My God, They Killed Copyright!

By Tim Armstrong, Derek Bambauer, and William McGeveran.

OK, it’s a weak title, but I needed the South Park allusion. When I was at Lotus, one of the plums was being selected to go to Lotusphere, the annual confab at the Walt Disney Swan and Dolphin resorts in Florida. I went twice (once as podium slave, once as presenter), and loved it for the energy, giveaways / tchotchkes, parties, and sheer geeky enthusiasm of the event. This year, a brilliant South Park parody / homage / imitation focused on Lotusphere is making the rounds, and it’s both clever and dead-on. When Cartman mentions “Web 2.2,” I almost snarfed.

In addition to a pleasant trip down memory lane (except Jelly Rolls - I hate dueling pianos), this short raises some fun copyright questions. Is this a parody? If so, of what - South Park, Lotusphere, or both? If it’s of Lotusphere, aren’t we in infringing territory (at least in the Ninth Circuit) under Dr. Seuss v. Penguin Books? What about a trademark claim - this mash-up is good enough that I actually wondered if Trey Parker and Matt Stone were involved somehow? (And if so, what does this mean? Only crappy mash-ups are safe from legal liability?) If you’d asked me these questions when I was at Lotus, I’d have looked at you as though you asked about the release plans for Lotus Marmoset 1.0, but now that I’m a lawyer, I sit and ponder them.

Anyway, if you like the vid, here’s another one on Web design that is spot-on.

Full post as published by Info/Law on March 10, 2009 (boomark / email).