Tuesday News: Dangers of corporate copyright infringement, when gender and religion collide, 1930s Harlem map, and cute proposal story
Publishing Newscopyright / Cotton Club / gender / Harlem / infringement / marriage proposal / New York City / piracy / religion / sexism1 Comments
Bugging out: How rampant online piracy squashed one insect photographer – An interesting article about how widespread corporate copyright infringement has imperiled the professional life of a nature photographer. In other words, the opposite of how many people perceive piracy, despite the rampant violations of copyright and trademark by corporate interests.
While the stereotypical copyright story pits private users against large corporate rights-holders, real-world cases are often more complex. After all, most content creators are private, and many content users—as well as content infringers—are corporate. The corporate infringements are the most frustrating, as I live off photo licenses issued to corporations in the same sectors. . . .
For a concise idea of what could go wrong, let me indulge in a list of recent venues where commercial interests have used my work without permission, payment, or even a simple credit:
Billboards, YouTube commercials, pesticide spray labels, website banners, exterminator trucks, t-shirts, iPhone cases, stickers, company logos, eBook covers, trading cards, board games, video game graphics, children’s books, novel covers, app graphics, alt-med dietary supplement labels, press releases, pest control advertisements, crowdfunding promo videos, coupons, fliers, newspaper articles, postage stamps, advertisements for pet ants (yes, that’s a thing), canned food packaging, ant bait product labels, stock photography libraries, and greeting cards. –Ars Technica
Orthodox Man Refuses To Sit Next to Feminist Activist on Airplane – A very interesting post by Elana Sztokman, who had just finished a book tour in the U.S. on her book, The War on Women in Israel: A Story of Religious Radicalism and the Women Fighting for Freedom. On a plane headed for Israel (where Szotkman lives), she found herself the subject of scorn by men on the plane, especially the man whose seat was assigned next to Szotkman’s. This man did not want to sit next to the Jewish feminist, and he made that point very clear, aided by the other men on the plane. A fascinating commentary on the complex relationships between religion, gender, and socialized behavioral norms. This seemed especially relevant after last week’s discussion about driving philosophies, religion, and Romance.
The plane took off 20 minutes late because an ultra-Orthodox man was negotiating with passengers so as not to have to sit next to a woman—me—on the 11-hour flight. I asked myself if this was karma or poetic justice. After all, I had just spoken to hundreds of people about exactly these issues and the way women are made to feel like second-class citizens as a result. Part of me wanted to smile and hand out copies of my book. But I sat there silently for a long time, watching all this happen, witnessing all these men around me talking about me, mostly in Yiddish, but also in Hebrew and English, without looking directly at me. I sat there, torn between my desire not to make a scene and my feeling that If I don’t articulate, right here and now, how all this affects women, how this affects me, who will? –Tablet Magazine
A 1932 Illustrated Map of Harlem’s Night Clubs: From the Cotton Club to the Savoy Ballroom – A fabulous artifact from Harlem in the 1930s. It may not be drawn to scale, but it’s annotated in the most amazing, rich ways and its creator, Elmer Simms Campbell, was also a cartoonist for Esquire — the first black syndicated cartoonist, according to this post (which also contains more of his amazing artwork). Check out the guy on Lenox between 131 and 133.
But keep in mind that this map is not drawn to scale. I know it looks like the joints are jumping from the second you step off the curb, but in reality, you’ll need to hoof it 21 blocks from the top of Central Park to 131st street for things to start cookin’. Hopefully, this geographical liberty won’t get you too hot under the collar. And if it does, well, it may be Prohibition, but stress-relieving beverages await you in every location listed, as well as in some 500 speakeasies Campbell allowed to remain on the down low. –Open Culture
NYPD Saves Failed Brooklyn Bridge Marriage Proposal – This is such an adorable story, and a perfect rom com set up. A couple from Nova Scotia were vacationing in New York City, and a romantic proposal on the Brooklyn Bridge was imperiled when the engagement ring fell off the lock to which it was attached and down between two wooden planks. An NYPD officer saved the ring, but unlike what you might expect from most rom cons, he did not become the romantic lead.
Fader wrote in her blog this weekend, “While the duration of time the ring sat there for is wholly unknown to us — time having been so distorted that afternoon — it was long enough for Mal to think, ‘Huh. That will be tricky to pick up.’ No sooner had this thought occurred, the ring slipped through the space and fell into oblivion.” –ABC News
Interesting stories posted today. Alex Wild’s Ars Technica article about ” the modern intellectual property landscape” was thoughtful and very informative. And Elana Sztokman’s RL experience is amazing and heart wrenching but her take away is hopeful and timely for the DA community:
“If there is one thing that I would like to change in the world, it is this: I would like women to respect themselves enough to say no to all this. I want women to allow themselves to feel the impact of the silencing. I want women to be honest with themselves and to look at their lives and the places where they are powerless or oppressed, and to acknowledge that. Better yet, I want women to say no, I will not be silent or servile. I will not continue to absorb the insult as if this is all OK. I want women to say that they deserve better. I want women to believe that they deserve better.”