Hollywood’s Copyright Wars

From Edison to the Internet

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Film, History & Criticism, Performing Arts
Cover of the book Hollywood’s Copyright Wars by Peter Decherney, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter Decherney ISBN: 9780231501460
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: April 10, 2012
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Peter Decherney
ISBN: 9780231501460
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: April 10, 2012
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Copyright law is important to every stage of media production and reception. It helps determine filmmakers' artistic decisions, Hollywood's corporate structure, and the varieties of media consumption. The rise of digital media and the internet has only expanded copyright's reach. Everyone from producers and sceenwriters to amateur video makers, file sharers, and internet entrepreneurs has a stake in the history and future of piracy, copy protection, and the public domain.

Beginning with Thomas Edison's aggressive copyright disputes and concluding with recent lawsuits against YouTube, Hollywood's Copyright Wars follows the struggle of the film, television, and digital media industries to influence and adapt to copyright law. Many of Hollywood's most valued treasures, from Modern Times (1936) to Star Wars (1977), cannot be fully understood without appreciating their legal controversies. Peter Decherney shows that the history of intellectual property in Hollywood has not always mirrored the evolution of the law. Many landmark decisions have barely changed the industry's behavior, while some quieter policies have had revolutionary effects. His most remarkable contributions uncover Hollywood's reliance on self-regulation. Rather than involve congress, judges, or juries in settling copyright disputes, studio heads and filmmakers have often kept such arguments "in house," turning to talent guilds and other groups for solutions. Whether the issue has been battling piracy in the 1900s, controlling the threat of home video, or managing modern amateur and noncommercial uses of protected content, much of Hollywood's engagement with the law has occurred offstage, in the larger theater of copyright. Decherney's unique history recounts these extralegal solutions and their impact on American media and culture.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Copyright law is important to every stage of media production and reception. It helps determine filmmakers' artistic decisions, Hollywood's corporate structure, and the varieties of media consumption. The rise of digital media and the internet has only expanded copyright's reach. Everyone from producers and sceenwriters to amateur video makers, file sharers, and internet entrepreneurs has a stake in the history and future of piracy, copy protection, and the public domain.

Beginning with Thomas Edison's aggressive copyright disputes and concluding with recent lawsuits against YouTube, Hollywood's Copyright Wars follows the struggle of the film, television, and digital media industries to influence and adapt to copyright law. Many of Hollywood's most valued treasures, from Modern Times (1936) to Star Wars (1977), cannot be fully understood without appreciating their legal controversies. Peter Decherney shows that the history of intellectual property in Hollywood has not always mirrored the evolution of the law. Many landmark decisions have barely changed the industry's behavior, while some quieter policies have had revolutionary effects. His most remarkable contributions uncover Hollywood's reliance on self-regulation. Rather than involve congress, judges, or juries in settling copyright disputes, studio heads and filmmakers have often kept such arguments "in house," turning to talent guilds and other groups for solutions. Whether the issue has been battling piracy in the 1900s, controlling the threat of home video, or managing modern amateur and noncommercial uses of protected content, much of Hollywood's engagement with the law has occurred offstage, in the larger theater of copyright. Decherney's unique history recounts these extralegal solutions and their impact on American media and culture.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book They Wished They Were Honest by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book Dekalog 4 by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book German Jihad by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book Stalking Nabokov by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book The Assault on Social Policy by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book Teaching in Social Work by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book Adenauer's Germany and the Nazi Past by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book Turks, Moors, and Englishmen in the Age of Discovery by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book The Caring Heirs of Doctor Samuel Bard by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book Hermaphroditism by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book This Place, These People by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book The Sacred Universe by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book The Rise of Mormonism by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book Taming the Wild Horse by Peter Decherney
Cover of the book State of Nature, Stages of Society by Peter Decherney
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy