Freedom+of+Expression

Key Points from the Section called, "//The Rise of the Clearance Culture//"
(part of the //Freedom of Expression// Documentary) This excerpt was obtained from the Freedom of Expression Study Guide found at the Media Education Foundation website

- Multimedia technologies allow people to document their own cultural histories and everyday lives. However, there is the expectation that any creator wishing to make even the most fragmentary use of a copyrighted work must seek permission from the owner. This has given rise to a “clearance culture.” - A clearance culture operates under the assumption that all copyright holders have absolute monopoly power to grant or deny the use of any aspect of their work to any other person — for example a documentary filmmaker — that might wish to use or comment on it. This has a “chilling effect” on such people, and comes with several costs.

- For example, the high prices demanded by copyright owners from documentary makers for fleeting uses of their properties are often prohibitively expensive, running into the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. This represents a restriction on the expression of those who cannot afford to pay these prices. - According to Lawrence Lessig, there should be a presumption that documentary makers should be allowed to make fragmented uses unless it can be shown that there was clear intent to exploit the commercial market for the original work. - A clearance culture is also bad for democracy, and democratic culture, because basic resources of information and modes of commentary are priced out of the reach of most people. This impedes their abilities to communicate with each other using the resources of the culture around them. - It is generally recognized by copyright reformers that the producers of original works should be fairly compensated for them, and that corporate entities provide a service by preserving aspects of our culture and its history. However, when those same figures use copyright to restrict access to that culture, they are restricting access to a shared cultural heritage, or what could be described as a public or common good. - Examples of cases in which documentary films have had problems with the clearance culture driven by aggressive copyright holders include the // Eyes on the Prize // film about the civil rights movement; any use of the song “Happy Birthday,” for example in the film // Hoop //Dreams ; and the sound of a cell phone’s ringtone (the theme from the // Rocky // films) in the documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom.”
 * After viewing The Rise of the Clearance Culture, create and share a Google Doc (call the Google Doc "Clearance Culture") with your team members. Look up the definitions to the vocabuary words on the Internet and answer the discussion questions listed below. Then share your Google Doc with Mrs. Cuellar at Lois.Cuellar@springbranchisd.com**

**Vocabulary:** 1. Fragmentary Use 2. Clearance Culture 3. Public Domain 4. Fair Use 5. The Commons

Discussion Questions:
1. What are the key features of a clearance culture? Who benefits from it and how? What are its costs, to individuals and to society at large? 2. The need to get permission from a copyright holder to sample or make use of an element of an original work is a problem for documentary filmmakers. Who else might be affected by this? How will this affect other kinds of groups and individuals in the near future? Do you make films now, or plan to? If so, how will this impact your creative work? 3. How and why have documentary makers been required to “shift reality a bit” to be able to make their films in a clearance culture? What effects does this have on the documentary process? 4. When the owners of the copyright to the song “Happy Birthday” or the theme to “Rocky” demand thousands of dollars for their incidental use in a documentary, what is it that they are protecting? Is this legitimate or is it “extortion” as described by one of the interviewees?