Author Archives: ikat381

Youtube’s Content ID System Is a Playground for Swindlers

By ikat381 | Published: September 1, 2011

Some forms of copyright abuse, such as censoring free speech or stifling fair use, have a long and shameful history. But Youtube has given rise to a number of new incentives for making phony copyright claims. Lying about copyright can now lead to increased web traffic, licensing revenues, advertising dollars, and other business advantages. And [...]

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Stephen Harper Steals Speech from Emperor Palpatine

By ikat381 | Published: May 2, 2011

Today is Canada’s federal election, so we thought it would be appropriate to post a related remix. After being found in contempt of parliament and losing the confidence of the House, Conservative party leader Stephen Harper started his campaign by delivering a scary speech to the press about his dedication to securing “stability and security [...]

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Vimeo’s Two-Faced Treatment of Remixers Suggests Ugly Corporate Plans for the Future

By ikat381 | Published: April 18, 2011

Vimeo seems to have a split personality when it comes to remixers. On the one hand, Vimeo’s community guidelines tell us that remixes are forbidden. The rules state that “you must own or hold all necessary rights (copyrights, etc.) to the videos” that you upload, and that “public domain videos are also prohibited.” This rule [...]

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Irish Green Party Continues the Timeworn Story of Copyright as Censorship

By ikat381 | Published: March 7, 2011

February’s Irish election added another chapter to the absurdly long history of desperate copyright censorship. Youtube user DublinDilettante posted “Green Party PPB: The Honesty Remix” to express his frustration at the Irish Green Party’s abandonment of its platform and shift to the right. The Greens have been condemned elsewhere for colluding with the right-wing Fianna [...]

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Reasons to Remix Chevron’s New TV Commericals

By ikat381 | Published: November 22, 2010

The discussion below borrows its theoretical framework from Naomi Klein’s seminal text, No Logo. Last month, the Yes Men and RAN preemptively hijacked Chevron’s greenwashed “We Agree” campaign, which Elisa’s last post detailed. In her post she mentions that part of the project involves a video remix competition for the best jammed Chevron TV ad. [...]

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The Slow Road to Fair Use

By ikat381 | Published: October 2, 2009

Why it Takes Three Weeks to Post Your Youtube Video In the year 2009, copyright disputes have been taken over by robots. On July 21st I posted a remix video to Youtube called “Super Pork and Beans All-Stars.” It was a remixed version of Weezer’s popular Pork and Beans music video, which is owned by [...]

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