Why should humans own all the world’s copyrights? The question is prompted by a photograph that’s made worldwide news. In Indonesia, a female crested black macaque monkey picked up a camera owned by photographer David Slater. I won’t focus much on the story of the monkey and her selfie because that topic has already been well-discussed in the media. Yet the story sets the table for more intriguing and ultimately more important issues.
Blockbusters, Behemoths, and In-Betweeners – The Changing Entertainment Business
What are the most notable recent changes and trends in the entertainment business? Not all of the changes are due to our friend the Internet, although that is obviously playing a very big part. Many motion picture industry figures have commented that we are headed to a future of still more big budget movies dominating the marketplace at very high movie ticket prices. Are the big boys and girls of show business going to win the lion’s share of revenue in the future?
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The Six Million Dollar Tweet
tweet is limited to 140 characters, but a picture might be worth six million dollars. Actress Katherine Heigl, who rose to Hollywood stardom on the medical drama television series Grey’s Anatomy, is suing the Duane Reade pharmacy chain for tweeting her image.
At some point a paparazzo took a picture of Heigl carrying Duane Reade shopping bags on her way out of the pharmacy. Duane Reade found it on a celebrity gossip website. On March 18, 2014, Duane Reade included the image in a tweet that read, “Love a quick #DuaneReade run? Even @KatieHeigl can’t resist shopping #NYC’s favorite drugstore.”
You Are Too Beautiful – Photoshop and Advertising
An article in Fashionista this week raises a provocative issue. Is it false advertising to use digital imaging software, such as Adobe’s Photoshop, to enhance photographs of people modeling cosmetic products and services, making the models look even more beautiful than they do in real life in order to sell these products and services?
According to the Fashionista article, Seth Maitlins, a citizen advocate and former marketing executive from Los Angeles, with the help of the Eating Disorders Coalition, has spearheaded the introduction of a bill in Congress called the “Truth In Advertising Act of 2014,” H.R 4341.
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The Little Antenna That Could? Aereo in the Supreme Court
The Little Antenna That Went to the Supreme Court
Call it “the little antenna that could.” Remember the classic rabbit ears that topped television sets? Now there is a miniature version that doesn’t look like a rabbit but moves very fast. A new device developed by Aereo, Inc. provides access to live TV online for local channels within a given coverage area. Using an array of tiny dime-sized antennas, the system makes it possible to watch television without a television set. For a rate currently around $8-12 per month, subscribers can view and record live television broadcasts over the Internet through mobile electronic devices. Since its inception in 2010, Aereo’s online television playback system has expanded into 11 major U.S. media markets and garnered the company nearly one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) in funding. This expansion has also earned the small startup company the enmity of major broadcasters and a date in the U.S. Supreme Court.
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